A New Beginning
by Christine6
Summary: This is a sequel to my story Second Chance
1. Default Chapter

A NEW BEGINNING

Disclaimer: Early Edition doesn't belong to me. The characters of EE belong to Tristar Pictures. The other characters in this story belong to me. This is the continuation of my story Second Chance. It picks up right where the other left off. E-mails are always welcome. 

A NEW BEGINNING

Chapter 1

****

Gary got down on one knee in front of her. Taking her hand he looked up at her and said, "Kaitlyn I love you more than I ever thought I could love someone. With every passing day I love you more." As he looked at her she could see all the love that he felt for her shining through his eyes. "Kaitlyn Kelly I want you to spend the rest of our lives as my wife. Will you marry me?"

She got down on her knees in front of him. "Yes." She said as the tears started to stream down her face. "Yes, I'll marry you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. 

Kaitlyn replayed that scene in her head a thousand times. As they lie there in bed, Gary softly sleeping beside her, she smiled. When she came to his loft that night she wanted to apologize to him for loosing faith in their love. She was going to beg for his forgiveness and pray that Gary would accept her apology. She never anticipated that he would ask her to marry him. 

Gary opened his eyes and saw that Kaitlyn was awake. He kissed her ear and wrapped her tighter in his arms. 

"What are you smiling about?" He whispered.

"I was just thinking about how lucky I am?" She turned her head towards him and kissed him on the lips.

"Lucky, huh?" Gary smiled. "I'd say I'm the lucky one?"

"Why would you say that?" She looked at him and smiled. 

"Because the most amazing woman I have ever met agreed to marry me. Giving me everything I have ever dreamed about." He hesitated. "A wife, a home and a family of my own." Gary smiled at the thought.

"Is that how you think of us?" Kaitlyn asked.

"It's the only thing I dreamt about while we were apart. My dreams were the only thing that got me through." Gary sighed. Not wanting to think back to how lonely those six weeks had been.

Kaitlyn's heart broke every time she thought about how much she had hurt him. "I'm sorry. I am going to spend the rest of my life making it up to you." She whispered.

Gary leaned in and kissed her a smile on his face. "There is nothing to make up. Besides, that's the past. I want to concentrate on our future. You, me and the girls."

"Don't forget about the cat?" Kaitlyn teased.

"Trust me, I won't." Gary groaned. "Seriously though I've been thinking about something."

"What's that?" She asked.

"Well I was thinking that since we're going to get married and spend the rest of our lives together that…" He hesitated. 

"Gary, what is it?"

"What would you think if, well, I would like to adopt the girls." Gary quickly said. 

Kaitlyn wanted to make sure she heard him correctly. She wanted him to repeat what he just said. Maybe then it would sink in.

"What?" She whispered.

"I want to adopt the girls. I love them and I want to be their father in every way. I want to give them my name. I want us to be a family." As Gary spoke he could see the tears welling in Kaitlyn's eyes. 

"I love you." She whispered as the tears flowed down her cheeks. "Thank you."

"Don't cry." He said as he wiped her tears away. "I hate it when you cry." He kissed her cheek. "I think we're going to have a great future." 

"Hmm, so what is our future?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Well we're gonna get married, soon." Gary picked up a piece of Kaitlyn's hair and twirled it in his fingers. "I'm sure the girls would like a little brother or sister." He smiled.

"You want to have kids?" Kaitlyn asked surprised.

"Well sure I do, but I guess I should have asked you how you felt about that first."

"There is nothing more in this world I want than to have a family with you." Kaitlyn smiled and quickly kissed him. "How many?" She asked.

"I don't know I haven't really thought about it." He looked down as if he were concentrating on an answer. "Well we already have the girls. I was thinking enough for a baseball team would be nice." He said with a smile.

"Nine!" She asked shocked.

"No really ten because you need a batter. And well, since we already have the girls, that's really only eight." He gave a little boy look as he pleaded his case.

"Eight! Okay, no. I am not have eight more kids." She said as she shook her head.

Gary hesitated for a minute. "How about six." He asked quickly. She looked at him and rolled her eyes.

"Five max." She said as Gary smiled. "And that includes the girls." Kaitlyn pointed a finger at him.

Gary shook his head in agreement. 

"You know, I hear sometimes it takes a lot of practice to make a baby." He smiled seductively. "I think we should start practicing." He reached up and began to kiss her neck.

"There is nothing I want more than to "practice" with you." Kaitlyn smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Later that evening Gary took Kaitlyn home. When they entered the house, they found Kaitlyn's mother, Lily picking up the girls' toys in the living room. She was thrilled to see Gary and Kaitlyn together.

"I knew she would come around." Lily whispered in Gary's ear as she hugged him. 

"I'm glad she did." Gary said with a smile.

"The girls have been in bed for about an hour. There are some leftovers in the kitchen if you're hungry." Lily reached for her jacket. "I'll leave you two alone to talk. I'll see y'all tomorrow." Lily kissed her daughter and Gary both on the cheek and headed for the door. 

"Thanks Mamma. I'll call you in the morning." Kaitlyn said as she walked Lily to the door. 

After she closed the door, Kaitlyn turned and walked over to Gary and put her arms around his waist. "You hungry?" She asked.

"No." He said as he gave her a quick kiss. "Are you?" He asked.

"No." She smiled.

"Good, because I think we need to talk?" Gary said.

"Okay." Kaitlyn smiled, took his hand, and led him to the couch. 

They spent the rest of the evening talking. Gary told her everything he knew about the paper. He told her about some of the people that he had saved and unfortunately, the ones that he couldn't. He confided to her that very few people knew about the paper. Now she was part of those few, along with his parents, Marissa, Emmitt, and Chuck. 

Kaitlyn told him she never mentioned the paper to anyone. Her family thought that her grief over Casey's kidnapping had caused Gary and her to stop seeing each other. 

They talked about the kidnapping and Kaitlyn's ex-husband. Gary told her he saw the article in the paper describing how David was going to kill Casey and then commit suicide. Kaitlyn listened intently as he told her how he, his father, and Chuck got Casey back. Gary confided in her that he felt guilty over David's death, but he would have given his own life to save Casey. 

They were sitting on the couch holding each other when Kaitlyn sat up and said, "I almost forgot, I have something for you." She smiled and got up to leave the room. "I'll be right back." She told him.

Minutes later she returned with a small gift-wrapped package in her hand. "Happy Birthday." She said as she handed him the package and sat down on the couch beside him.

"Happy Birthday?" Gary asked surprised.

"Yeah. I was going to give this to you on your birthday. The girls have something for you too, but they can give it to you tomorrow. Open it." Kaitlyn smiled.

"Okay." Gary began to open the package. Once he got the wrapping off, he found a velvet box. He opened it to find a gold watch. "It's beautiful. Thank you." He said as he leaned over and kissed her.

"It's engraved. Look on the back." Kaitlyn said.

Gary pulled the watch out of the box and turned it over. He read the inscription out loud. _"To the hero who saved my heart. Love always, Kaitlyn."_ Thank you." Gary said kissing her cheek. He turned the watch back over and noticed the time.

"Is that the right time?" He asked.

"Yeah, 12:30." Kaitlyn sighed.

"I better get going." As Gary got up Kaitlyn grabbed his hand. 

"Don't go." She pleaded.

"Are you sure?" Gary asked. "What about the girls?"

"The girls will be thrilled to wake up and find you here in the morning." Kaitlyn said as she stood up beside him. "Besides, right here with us is where you are supposed to be." 

Gary smiled and put his hand up to her face and caressed her cheek. "I love you." He whispered as he leaned in and kissed her.

"I love you, too." Kaitlyn smiled. "Come on, let's go to bed." She took his hand, turned off the light, and quietly led him upstairs.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Gary woke up to the sunlight streaming through the front windows. He rolled over and looked at the clock. It was a little before 6:30. He reached over and shut off the alarm before it went off. He got up on his elbow, his head in his hand, and watched Kaitlyn sleep. 

He knew how lucky he was to have her back. Before when they were together his heart was constantly struggling with his mind. In his heart he knew that he loved her more than anything but, his mind kept telling him not to trust that love, because in the end he would loose it. For a short time he thought he did. But, now as he lay there watching her sleep his heart and mind were completely in sync looking forward to what the future brought.

Meow. Thump. Hearing that all-familiar noise, Gary quickly got out of bed, pulled on his jeans and t-shirt, and headed downstairs. When he opened the front door, he found the cat sitting on the paper.

"Meow." The cat came into the house and jumped up onto the chair in the living room.

"Hey keep it down will ya." Gary whispered. He picked up the paper, quietly shut the door, went over to the chair, and picked up the cat. "And stay off the furniture!" He dropped the cat to the floor and the cat walked over and headed up the stairs.

Gary sat down in the chair. He knew that when Kaitlyn and the girls got up he would be distracted and chances are he would end up forgetting about the paper. Unfortunately, he had learned that lesson the hard way. He opened the paper to find out what his day entailed. After looking through it twice, he headed upstairs. 

When he walked into the bedroom, he found the cat curled up next to Kailtyn on his pillow. He gave the cat a disgusted look and checked to make sure he hadn't woken up Kaitlyn. She was still sound asleep, wrapped up in the quilt. Gary laid the paper on the nightstand and headed for the shower. 

Kaitlyn rolled over and reached for Gary. What she felt was the cold spot on the sheets where he no longer lay. She looked up and saw the cat on Gary's pillow. She gave him a quick scratch on the head and rolled back over. She knew Gary was in the shower because she could hear the water running. She got herself out of bed, realizing that her robe was in the bathroom, she grabbed his flannel shirt off the chair, and put it on. As she buttoned it, she saw the paper laying on the nightstand. Though she was tempted, she didn't touch it. Instead, she headed downstairs to the kitchen. 

Kaitlyn had put on a pot of coffee and was in the process of opening a can of cat food when she felt Gary's arms wrap around her waist. 

"Good Morning." He whispered as he kissed her neck.

"It is a good morning." She said. 

"You know I never knew how sexy a flannel shirt could be." He whispered into her ear. "But, I think you out of the flannel shirt would be even sexier." He smiled and went back to kissing her neck. 

Kaitlyn closed her eyes, her heart beating faster with each kiss. In the comfort of his arms was where she knew she would spend the rest of her life, hoping that his touch would always effect her this way. As soon as she turned herself around in his arms, their lips met. She didn't want him to stop, but she knew that he had too. 

"The girls will be getting up soon." She said breathing heavily as she pulled away from him. "Want some coffee?"

"Coffee would be good." Gary smiled, letting out a breath. He turned his attentions toward the paper.

"What does the paper have planned for you? Nothing dangerous I hope." She asked noticing that Gary was looking at the paper. She poured them both a cup of coffee. 

"Actually it looks like it's going to be a pretty light day. First, I have to stop a mugging in the park. Then I have to stop a kid from drowning at the aquarium. Those are both later this morning. Then around 5:00 a guy is going to try and beat a train through a railroad crossing and if I don't stop him he's not going to be successful." Gary said. 

"That's what you consider a light day? You know I can help you with paper." She said.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Gary said shaking his head.

"Why not?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Because the paper, it's not an easy thing to deal with and," Gary stuttered trying to find the right words.

"Gary, I see marriage as a partnership. That means that we need to be there for each other. That paper is a part of your life. If you intend to share your life with me, well that includes the paper. So you need to let me help you." Kaitlyn argued.

Gary knew she was right. He had spent the last six years dealing with this paper on his own and it was hard for him to let go. 

Kaitlyn saw that he was struggling with what she said. She walked over to him and put her arms around his neck.

"Gary, I know that this isn't easy for you. You are going to have to get used to the fact that what this paper brings to your life is something we have to face together." She reached up on her toes and kissed his lips. "I love you. Besides, two heads are better than one." 

"I love you too." Gary leaned down and kissed her. They were interrupted by the sound of the girls coming into the kitchen.

"Gary!" They screamed in unison both running to his waiting arms. He hugged them both and then picked up Casey.

"We've missed you." Casey said as she kissed his cheek. 

"Well I've missed you too." Gary said.

How about I make us some breakfast." Kaitlyn smiled and kissed Jessica on the forehead.

"Can we have pancakes?" Jessica asked.

"Pancakes it is." Gary said as he set Casey down.

"I'm going to run upstairs and put on my robe. I'll be right back." Kaitlyn headed upstairs. 

A few minutes later, when Kaitlyn came back downstairs she found Gary holding the box of pancake mix in his hands and reading the preparation instructions. Jessica was getting the griddle out of the cabinet. 

"You guys need some help?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Mommy, Gary doesn't know how to make pancakes." Casey said.

"Well we're just going to have to teach him then aren't we." Kaitlyn said.

"I can figure it out." Gary said.

"A cook, you're not." Kaitlyn teased as she took the box out of his hands.

"I'll admit to that." Gary said. Then he leaned in and whispered in her ear. "There are other things I'm better at." He kissed her cheek. 

"Well then maybe you should concentrate all of your efforts on the things that you're better at." Kaitlyn smiled as she playfully elbowed him in the stomach.

"Oh, I intend to." Gary smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When breakfast was ready, they all sat down at the table. Gary couldn't remember a time where everything felt so right. He had waited his whole adult life for this, a family. Now here they were, right there in front of him. Having the love of this family was something he wanted to feel for the rest of his life. 

"Girls, Gary and I wanted to talk to you about something." Kaitlyn said.

"What did you want to talk to us about?" Jessica asked.

"Well, we wanted to tell you that Gary is going to be spending a lot more time with us." Kaitlyn smiled.

"Just like before?" Casey asked.

"Only better." Gary smiled.

"Better how?" Jessica asked.

Gary looked at Kaitlyn and could see in her eyes that she was urging him to answer the girls' questions. Her smile was the only encouragement he needed.

"Your Mom and I," he hesitated, "well, if it's okay with you two your Mom and I are going to get married." 

"Get married?" Jessica couldn't contain her excitement and a huge smile spread across her face.

"I guess it's okay with her." Kaitlyn said as she smiled at Gary. Then turning her attentions towards Casey asked, "What do you think about that sweetie?" 

"What does that mean?" Casey asked.

"Well, it means that Gary is going to live here with us and he'll be a part of our family." Kaitlyn smiled.

"Does that mean that you're going to be our Daddy?" Casey asked looking at Gary.

Gary looked over at Kaitlyn. He could see the tears welling in her eyes. He reached over and took her hand. 

"If you want me to be. I would like very much to be your Daddy." Gary smiled. "In fact Mommy and I are going to talk to a Judge to see if we can make that official. If it is okay with you and Jess."

Casey got out of her chair, crawled into Gary's lap, and put her arms around his neck. "I think I would like that too." Casey said and Jessica shook her head in agreement. 

Gary kissed her on the nose. "You and I will have to have a standing pizza breakfast date." He said as he started to tickle her.

"What's wrong Mommy?" Jessica asked.

"Nothing sweetie, I'm just happy." Kaitlyn said as she kissed her daughter's cheek. "Hey, you guys want to give Gary his birthday presents?" 

"Yeah, I'll go get it." Jessica screamed as she headed out of the kitchen. 

"No, I'll get it." Casey yelled after her.

Kaitlyn rolled her eyes and laughed. "Are you sure this is how you want to spend your mornings?" She asked Gary.

"Definitely." He smiled reaching across the table to kiss her.

They were interrupted by Jessica's voice. "They're kissing again." She said.

"Get used to it." Gary said as he winked at Kaitlyn.

"Here open this one first. They go together." Jessica said as she handed him her package.

"Okay." Gary ripped the gift-wrap off. "A baseball bat." 

"It's special." Jessica said. "Look." When she turned it over Gary noticed it had Sammy Sosa's name engraved into the wood. It also had his autograph on it. 

"It's Sammy's bat. Uncle Greg helped us get it." Jessica said. Gary smiled.

"Open mine, open mine." Casey screamed and she handed Gary a smaller flat package.

When Gary opened the package, he couldn't believe what he was holding. It was a plaque, enclosed in glass were Sammy Sosa's rookie baseball card, and on a separate piece of paper his autograph. He looked at Kaitlyn in disbelief. 

"How did you get this." He asked.

"Well believe it or not they were both pretty easy to come by." She smiled. 

"That card had to cost you a small fortune." Gary said.

"Actually, all I had to do was barter with Greg to part with it. He's been collecting baseball cards since he was a kid, he actually had two." She smiled. "I figured you could hang them both up at the bar."

"Thank you." He said as he grabbed Casey in one arm and Jessica in the other and kissed them both on the cheek. "These are the best birthday presents I've ever gotten." 

"Come on Jess. You have to get ready for school. Ben will be here soon to walk you to the bus stop." Kaitlyn instructed.

"I don't have school today. That means I get to spend the whole day with Gary." Casey smiled.

"That's not fair." Jessica groaned.

"Hey, I promise you later on tonight you and I will play catch." Gary said. 

"Okay." Jessica said. She headed upstairs to get dressed. Casey followed close behind.

Kaitlyn got up out of her chair to start cleaning up the breakfast dishes. Gary grabbed her and pulled her down onto his lap. 

"Thank you for the birthday presents." Gary said as he kissed her lips.

"You're welcome. I promise next year you'll get them on your birthday." She smiled. "Hey, we should call your parents and tell them our news." 

"Do we have too?" Gary groaned.

"Gary! You don't think they are going to be happy about it?" Kaitlyn asked concerned.

"Happy about it? Are you kidding? They're going to be thrilled. That's what I'm afraid of." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Well, we haven't even talked about when we're going to get married. As soon as my mother finds out, she'll be headed for Chicago. It's anybody's guess as to how long she'll stay."

The ringing of the telephone interrupted them. Kaitlyn went to answer it.

"Hello." She said. "Hi. Yeah. What? We can't do that. I thought the decision was already made on this." She looked frustrated. "Okay, see if you can get a hold of Paul and give me a call back in about an hour and we can decide what we're going to do. In the meantime, schedule a conference call with Mr. McDonald for around 11:00. Okay, I'll talk to you in a little bit." She hung up the telephone. 

"Something wrong?" Gary asked.

"Just some things I have to get straightened out, it's work." Kaitlyn sighed. "I'm going to see if my Mom can watch Casey this morning." She said as she reached for the telephone. Gary stopped her.

"I can watch Casey." He said.

"What about the paper?" Kaitlyn asked 

"She can come with me." Gary said.

"Do you really think that is a good idea?" She asked.

"Why not? I think I can handle a four-year-old for a few hours. Besides, I have an errand of my own I have to run and she can come with me." 

"Are you sure?" Kaitlyn asked. Gary could tell she was just trying to be cautious.

"Casey and I will be fine." Gary said. "I'm sure there are going to be plenty of times when this is going to happen. What was it that you said to me earlier? Marriage is a partnership, which means that we need to be there for each other." Gary smiled.

"You're using my own words against me." Kaitlyn said as she wrapped her arms around Gary's neck.

"Yep." Gary smiled and kissed her. 

"What about your parents?" Kaitlyn asked.

"We'll call them later?" Gary whispered. "Besides, I don't want to talk about my parents right now." Gary smiled seductively as he wrapped his arms around Kaitlyn's waist and continued their kiss.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Gary headed out with Casey in tow to take care of the paper's work. Casey got excited when she learned that they were going to the park. Unfortunately, that excitement was quickly quashed when Gary told her that they were not there to play. 

"Then what are we here for?" She asked, arms crossed.

"Well Casey, I have to stop a man from stealing a woman's purse." Gary said as he pulled the paper from his pocket and scanned the article. He looked around the park to see if he could find the woman. 

"Can't we play for a little while." Casey pouted.

Gary squatted down until he was at Casey's eye level. "How about I make a deal with you. If you let me take care of this, I'll take you to the aquarium." 

"Okay." Casey conceded. 

As Gary kissed her forehead, he heard a woman scream. He turned around and saw a woman fighting with a man. She was struggling to hold onto her purse. 

"He buddy, let go of that." Gary screamed. "Miss let go or you're going to fall and hurt yourself." 

As Gary ran over to where the woman stood the straps of the purse broke and she fell backwards. Gary got there just in time to cushion her fall with his body. As she lay on top of Gary clutching her purse, the mugger took off running. 

After Gary worked his way out from underneath her, he helped the woman to her feet. In the meantime, Casey walked over to Gary and wrapped her arms around his leg.

"Are you alright?" Gary asked.

"Oh, yes I'm fine. Thank you." The woman said. "He didn't even get my purse." When the woman finally looked at Gary, she realized how handsome he was. Her attraction was written all over her face.

"You're welcome." Gary said awkwardly.

"What a cute little girl." The woman said. "What is your name?"

"Casey." Casey said.

"Well your Daddy is quite the hero." The woman smiled seductively at Gary noticing that he wasn't wearing a wedding ring. 

"Well Casey we better get going if we want to make it to the aquarium." Gary swallowed hard. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked the woman.

"I'm fine." She surprised Gary by kissing him on the lips. 

"It was nice to meet you Casey." The woman said when she pulled away. She reached into her coat pocket, pulled out a business card, and placed it in Gary's hand. 

"Call me sometime." Then turned toward Casey and said, "You have fun at the aquarium." 

Gary smiled and led Casey away as she waived good-bye, tossing the business card in the first garbage can they reached. 

Gary and Casey headed to the aquarium. Gary knew exactly where they had to go. A five-year-old boy was going to fall into the dolphin tank. When they got there Gary saw the little boy right away. He was hanging over the banister. His pregnant mother was talking to another woman, oblivious to what he was doing. Gary ran over and grabbed his leg just as he began to fall pulling him back over the banister. 

"Hey kid. You almost fell in there." Gary said.

His mother turned to see Gary grabbing her son and jumped to the wrong conclusion. "Let go of him." She screamed. The kid then kicked Gary in the shin and ran to his mother's arms. The mother took her son by the hand and hurriedly walked away.

"He almost fell in." Gary screamed after them. "Brat." He mumbled under his breath. 

Gary and Casey spent the next few hours at the aquarium. He spent most of the time trying to answer her questions. Though he knew Casey well, he was surprised at how curious she was. Gary would answer one question and she would quickly have another. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

After leaving the aquarium, they headed to McGinty's for lunch. When they got there the place was busy with the usual lunch crowd. Gary and Casey headed to the office. Marissa was sitting at the desk having a conversation with Patrick. 

"Hey Mr. H." Patrick said.

"Gary?" Marissa asked.

"Yeah, it's me and I have a visitor with me." Gary said as Casey followed him into the office.

"Hi Marissa. Hi Patrick." Casey said.

"Casey is that you?" Marissa asked.

"Yep." Casey answered as she gave Marissa a hug.

"Well I'm glad you're here. It has been a while since you visited. Is your Grandma with you today?" Marissa asked.

"No, not today Marissa. She's with me." Gary said.

"Does that mean what I think it does?" Marissa asked.

"Gary and Mommy are getting married." Casey said.

"Married?" Marissa asked surprised.

"Patrick why don't you take Casey into the kitchen and get her something to eat." Gary said.

"Can I have ice cream?" Casey asked.

"You have to eat a sandwich or something first. Then you can have ice cream." Gary said.

"Okay. Come on Casey. We will make you a sandwich and then I'll show you how to make a sundae. You like chocolate?" Patrick said as he took her by the hand. 

"Can I have sprinkles?" Casey asked as they headed out the door.

"Well?" Marissa smiled.

"Well what?" Gary said as he sat down in the chair. 

"Are you or are you not getting married?" Marissa asked impatiently.

"Yes. I asked Kaitlyn to marry me and she said yes." Gary smiled.

"I spoke with her when she came in last night. I was hoping things would work out between you too. I told you Gary, all you needed was a little faith." Marissa beamed.

"Well, I don't know if it was faith Marissa. You were right about one thing. When two people are meant to be together, it's a lot easier to overcome obstacles. Kaitlyn and I, well, we had some definite obstacles to overcome."

"It's called fate, Gary." Marissa smiled. "No matter how hard you try you can't get away from it."

"Call it what you want Marissa. I'm just glad to have her and the girls' back in my life. For the first time in a long time I'm not afraid of what the future has to bring." Gary smiled.

"I'm happy for you Gary." Marissa said. "So when is the wedding?" 

"We haven't really had a chance to discuss that yet." Gary said.

"Have you talked to your parents?" Marissa asked.

"No, not yet." Gary said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I told Kaitlyn we would call them later. 

"What are you so worried about? Your parents are going to be thrilled." 

"I know. It's just, well you know how my Mom is. I'm just afraid she'll force Kaitlyn into something that she doesn't want." Gary groaned.

"What do you mean?" Marissa asked.

"Well, knowing my Mother she is going to want this huge wedding. Kaitlyn and I, well, we have both been through all that before. I'm not so sure she would want that again. I know I really don't." Gary said. "I think I just want something simple."

"Why don't you just tell your mother that?" Marissa asked.

"That's easy for you to say." Gary mumbled. "I'm going to head upstairs to get changed. Could you keep an eye on Casey for me? So to speak." Gary smiled.

"Sure." Marissa said with a smile. Gary walked to the door. "Gary, don't worry about it everything will work out." Marissa smiled.

"I hope so." Gary headed upstairs.

Once Gary had changed his clothes and grabbed a bite to eat, he, and Casey headed out to take care of his errand. Gary told her that they were going to get something for Kaitlyn, but that she had to keep it a secret. She eagerly agreed. 

They were sitting on the El when Casey asked, "When are you and Mommy going to get married?"

"I hope it will be soon." Gary smiled. "Why?"

"Do I have to wait until then to call you Daddy? Casey asked.

Gary was surprised at her question. He was being honest when he told Kaitlyn that he wanted to be the girls' father in every way, but for some reason, he never really thought about what the girls would call him. 

"Is that what you want to call me?" Gary asked.

"Yeah, can I?" Casey said.

"Well, I guess that is what I am going to be? So, I guess that is what you can call me." Gary smiled. 

"Okay." Casey smiled and took his hand as they headed off the train. "Since you're going to live with us, does that mean cat will be living with us too?

"Well, yeah, I guess it does." Gary said.

"Can we get a puppy?" Casey asked.

"A puppy?" Gary stopped and looked at her. Casey shook her head yes. "Well, I think that is something we're going to have to talk to Mommy about." Gary said.

"Okay." Casey said disappointed.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It was 3:00 when Gary and Casey made it home. Kaitlyn was sitting at the kitchen table papers scattered everywhere. 

"Hey sweetie." She smiled when she saw Casey. "Did you have fun today?" 

Casey went on a mile a minute about the aquarium and all that she and Gary had done. She told her that she had seen Marissa and that Patrick gave her ice cream. Then she started to talk about meeting the nice lady in the park. 

"She kissed him right on the lips, Mommy." Casey said as she crinkled her nose. 

"She did, did she." Kaitlyn said as she looked at Gary, who was obviously uncomfortable with the remark. 

"She was just thanking me for the help." Gary said awkwardly.

"Oh, I guess that's a hazard to the job." Kaitlyn teased. When Gary looked up at her and saw the smile on her face he knew she was teasing.

"You could say that." He said with a half smile.

"Daddy has a surprise for you." Casey said.

Although they had talked about it, nothing could have prepared Gary for the way he felt when he actually heard that word come out of Casey's mouth. Daddy, he had wanted to hear someone call him that word for so long. At that moment, he didn't think his heart could be more full. 

"He does, does he?" Kaitlyn said as she looked at Gary then headed to put her coffee cup on the counter.

"That was supposed to be a secret." Gary said to Casey.

"He just doesn't understand that it's hard for four-year-olds to keep secrets." Kaitlyn said.

"Casey why don't you go on in the other room and play so that Mommy and I can talk." Gary said.

"Okay. Are you going to give her the present?" Casey tried to whisper, though she was not very successful.

"Yes." Gary said as he smiled and shook his head. Casey returned his smile and headed out of the room.

Gary walked over to Kaitlyn and put his arms around her waist. She instinctively put her arms around his neck. They both smiled at each other and then kissed. 

"Well, I've heard Casey's version of the afternoon. How was it for you?" Kaitlyn asked as she played with the v-shaped piece of hair at the nape of his neck. "Outside of the kiss, of course. I don't think I need to hear about that again." Kaitlyn smiled.

"We had a good afternoon. She asked me about something." Gary looked at Kaitlyn.

"Did she hit you up for a puppy?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Yeah, well that she did." Gary smiled. "But, she asked me if she could call me Daddy." Gary said.

"I caught that." Kaitlyn said.

"Even though I told her it was okay, I wasn't really prepared for the way I would feel after I heard her say it." Gary said. "I have to admit it was one of the best feelings of my life." 

Kaitlyn moved her hand to his cheek. "Thank you." She said. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Gary smiled. 

They spent the next few minutes kissing absorbed in a world of their own. They were interrupted when Casey pulled on Gary's pant leg.

"Did you give Mommy the pretty ring yet?" She asked.

Gary and Kaitlyn pulled away from each other. Kaitlyn looked at Gary in surprise and he sighed.

"Did you know that four-year-olds can't keep a secret?" Gary said. "Well, since the cat is out of the bag, so to speak." 

Gary reached for his jacket and pulled something out of its pocket. He handed it to Kaitlyn. It was a small box with a ribbon tied around it. She pulled the ribbon off and opened the lid. Inside was a small velvet box. She opened the box to find the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. It was a princess cut diamond solitaire with smaller triangular stones on the side, set in platinum. With tears in her eyes, Kaitlyn put her hand to her mouth and looked up at Gary.

"Gary you didn't have to do this." Kaitlyn said. "This is too much."

"Well, you're going to spend the rest of your life wearing it. I think a little expense is in order." Gary smiled. "If you don't like it, we can take it back and get you something different." 

"You absolutely will not take it back. Gary if I had every ring in the world to select from this is exactly the one that I would choose. Its beautiful." Kaitlyn said.

"I helped pick it out Mommy." Casey beamed.

"You did?" Kaitlyn asked. Casey nodded.

"She did." Gary said sarcastically as he rolled is eyes. "How about we see if it fits?" Gary took the box from Kaitlyn's hand and pulled out the ring. "Will you marry me?" He said as he slid the ring on her finger.

"Yes." She whispered as she threw her arms back around his neck and kissed him. 

"You know what?" Gary said as he pulled away. "We need to call my parents." 

"Are you sure?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Yes. I'm happier than I have ever been in my life and I want to share that with them." Gary quickly kissed her, went over, picked up the telephone, and dialed.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Hello." Gary heard the sound of his father's voice. "Dad." He said.

"Gar, how you doing son? Hold on a second, let me get your Mom." Gary could hear his father yell, "Hey Lo, pick up the phone it's Gary." 

Within seconds he heard his mother pick up the extension. 

"Hi, honey. How are you?" Lois said.

"Hi Mom. I'm doing great." Gary said as he winked at Kaitlyn.

"Well you sound happy. Please tell me that has something to do with Kaitlyn." Lois said.

"Mom maybe you better sit down." Gary said with a smile on his face.

"What's wrong Gar?" Bernie asked.

"Don't get worried. There is nothing wrong, in fact everything couldn't be more right." Gary said. "Mom, are you sitting down?" 

"Yes, Gary, please just tell us." Lois said. Gary could hear the insistence in her voice.

"Mom, Dad, Kaitlyn and I, well, we're back together, and well, we're getting married." Gary stuttered.

"Gar, that's great!" Bernie screamed. Gary could hear his mother crying.

"Thanks Dad. Mom, Mom don't cry." Gary pleaded.

"Oh, Gary I am so happy for you. Your father and I are coming to Chicago." Lois said.

"Yeah, Gar, we'll pack up the Grey Ghost and hit the road. If we don't hit a lot of traffic, we can be there in a few hours. Gar, we'll see you later." Bernie said as he hung up the telephone.

"Mom, you and Dad don't have to come to Chicago. Kaitlyn and I, well, we haven't even talked about setting a date yet." Gary looked at Kaitlyn with a look of "I told you so."

"Oh, Gary there is so much to do to plan a wedding." Lois said 

"Mo…" Gary tried to cut her off, but his mother continued to talk.

"She is going to need all the help she can get. We'll just talk about it when we get there. Bye, honey." All Gary heard was the click of the telephone. 

"Oh, boy." He said as he hung up the telephone.

"What's wrong?" Kaitlyn asked.

"They're on their way. My mother said it takes a long time to plan a wedding and you are going to need all the help you can get. They're never going to leave." Gary groaned as he sat down at the table.

"Oh come on. I bet it's not going to be as bad as you think." Kaitlyn said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.

"That's what you think. You see I have known my parents for 35 years. I know what their like. I know my mother loves me, but she is smothering. She is going to want to take control of everything." He said.

"Honey, I love your parents." Kaitlyn said as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Gary, she is your mother and our children are going to be very lucky to have her as a Grandmother." 

Gary looked at her out of the corner of his eye and sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you." He said as he pointed his finger at her. "I have to go and take care of the paper. Is it alright if I take your car?" 

"Sure." She said taking the keys off the peg and handing them to him. "Be careful, okay." Kaitlyn gave him a quick kiss. 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Gary got to the railroad crossing in plenty of time. He blocked it off with the Jeep, stood, and waited for the car the paper had described. When he saw the car, he stopped it short of the tracks. 

"Hey buddy, get out of the way." The man driving the car said.

"Sir. My car stalled. You're going to have to turn around and go another way. I'm waiting for a tow." Gary said as the train came through the crossing.

"Now I'm going to be even later for a meeting." The man said angrily. 

"Sorry." Gary said shrugging his shoulders. 

The man turned his car around and headed in the opposite direction. Gary pulled the paper from the front of his coat. The story had disappeared. Gary smiled, started to whistle, and walked to the jeep.

After a stop at McGinty's to go over some things with Marissa, Gary headed back to Kaitlyn's. As he drove down the street he saw his parent's truck and camper parked in the driveway. "That's record time." He mumbled as he pulled up in front of the house. He walked in the front door to find his parents and the Kelly's in the living room. 

"There he is." Lois said as she walked over to hug him. 

"Mom, Dad, you made it here awful quick." Gary said.

"Congratulations Gar." Bernie said giving him a hug.

"Honey, we have been having the best time talking about the wedding." Lois said.

"Really?" Gary asked skeptically. "Where's Kaitlyn?" 

"Oh, she's in the kitchen." Lily said.

"I'm going to go and see her." He said as he walked towards the kitchen. He could hear the conversation pick up and continue right where it had left off without skipping a beat. Gary found Kaitlyn in the kitchen looking out the window, watching the girls playing in the backyard. 

"Hey." He said as he walked over to her taking off his jacket and throwing it over the chair.

"Hi." She smiled as she put her arms around his waist.

"How come you're not participating in the wedding planning activities?" Gary asked jokingly.

As Kaitlyn opened her mouth to answer him, Lily and Lois came into the kitchen. Lily was holding a calendar in her hand. 

"Kaitlyn, how does June sound?" Lily asked.

"June is such lovely time of the year for a wedding." Lois said smiling. 

"June?" Gary asked. "We're not waiting…" Kaitlyn cut Gary off before he could finish.

"Gary and I, we'll talk about it and let you know, okay?" Kaitlyn said smiling as she squeezed Gary's hand.

"Well, you know sweetie, if you're going to book the Chicago Hilton for the reception, June is probably the earliest you will be able to get it." Lily said as Lois shook her head in agreement.

"The Chicago Hilton?" Gary asked in disbelief as he looked at Kaitlyn.

"Honey, how about we take a walk? Mom will you keep an eye on the girls?" Kaitlyn asked.

"A walk?" Gary asked skeptically. 

"Yes, a walk." Kaitlyn said though gritted teeth with a smile on her face. She grabbed Gary's hand and his coat and headed for the door.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Gary and Kaitlyn walked in silence until they got to the small playground that was down the street. 

"I'm not going to say I told you so." Gary said. "But, I did tell you so." 

"Okay, okay you were right." Kaitlyn said. "The bigger question is, what are we going to do about it? My mother has been as bad as your mother with this whole thing." 

"I don't know." Gary said as he sat down on the bench. Kaitlyn sat down next to him.

"I know that they just want us to be happy and share this with us. But…" She said as she looked at the ground.

"I don't want to wait until June to get married." Gary said angrily. "That's eight months away." 

"I don't either." Kaitlyn said as she looked up at him.

"You don't?" Gary asked.

"No. I am ready for us to start our life together, now. Not eight months from now." Kaitlyn said.

"Well, why don't we just elope?" Gary asked as he turned towards her and took her hand.

"Elope?" Kaitlyn said.

"Yeah. Just you and me." He replied. "We can fly to Vegas." 

"Vegas? I don't think I want to get married in Las Vegas. Anyway, I don't really think that's fair to our mothers. I think they would be heartbroken if we did that. Besides, I want our family and friends to be there when we get married." Kaitlyn said. "I just don't want a huge formal wedding."

"I don't need that either." Gary said as he rubbed is face in frustration. They sat in silence for a few minutes both trying to think of a solution. Gary spoke first.

"How about next Saturday?" Gary asked quickly.

"Next Saturday? For what?" Kaitlyn asked.

"For what? For a wedding. We have plenty of time. We could go and get our blood tests and have Mike expedite the results so we can apply for the license. I'm sure Reverend Manning would perform the ceremony. We can have a small get together at the house afterwards. There is plenty of time. I think October 28th is a pretty good day for a wedding." Gary said.

"That's only ten days away." Kaitlyn said softly. "Well what are we going to do about our parents?" 

"We won't tell them." Gary said.

"What?" Kaitlyn asked alarmed.

"We won't tell them until Saturday." Gary said as a sly smile spread across his face. "Well, I'll have to tell Chuck so that he can come to town, and Marissa. You have to tell your sisters, because we might need their help putting this all together."

"You know I think this could work." Kaitlyn smiled.

"Of course it will work." Gary said boldly. 

"You don't think they'll get mad do you?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Well maybe at first, but, they are going to be so happy for us. We'll just tell them that this is what we wanted and well I'll play the grandchild card with my mother and she'll get over it quick." Gary smiled.

"I never knew how cunning you were." Kaitlyn smiled and leaned in putting her lips as close to his as she could without touching. "I think I like it." She whispered right before she allowed their lips to meet for a passionate kiss. 

Suddenly she pulled away. "What about the paper?" She asked.

"What about it?" Gary said as he caressed her cheek. "I will promise you that nothing is going to stop me from marrying you on Saturday." He leaned in and kissed her. When they parted he said, "So, do we have a date?"

"We definitely have a date." Kaitlyn said with a huge smile on her face.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Kaitlyn's sister Emily got the first flight out of New York the next morning. Kaitlyn arranged for Megan to pick her up at the airport. In order to keep her visit a secret, she, and her husband, Greg, were going to stay with Marissa and Emmitt.

Later that day, Gary and Kaitlyn headed to the airport to pick up Chuck and his wife Jade who were flying in from Los Angeles. On the drive to the airport, Gary filled Kaitlyn in on Chuck's shortcomings. 

"Chuck is just Chuck. You have to get to know him to love him." Gary said with a smile.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kaitlyn said.

"He has a tendency to get involved in situations before he thinks the consequences through. Don't get me wrong, he has a good heart. His head misleads him sometimes. I know in time that you'll see the good side to him. With Chuck it just might take awhile." Gary said. Kaitlyn looked at Gary confused. 

"Well, I visited him while he was in the hospital, you know?" Kaitlyn said. 

"You did?" Gary asked.

"Yes. I wanted to thank him for what he did for Casey. He seemed all right to me. He had nothing but nice things to say about you." Gary looked over at Kaitlyn and smiled. "Besides, I don't care what kind of mistakes he might make. I'll always be grateful to him for what he did." Kaitlyn said with a smile.

"Well, Jade isn't without her flaws either." Gary said.

"Okay, you know what? I think I'm afraid to ask what that means." Kaitlyn said as she stared at Gary.

"She's an ex-jewel thief." Gary said under his breath.

"She what?" Kaitlyn asked.

"She's an ex-jewel thief." Gary said louder.

"A jewel thief." Kaitlyn repeated. "A jewel thief?" She asked in disbelief.

Gary spent the rest of the ride telling Kaitlyn about how he met Jade and her past profession. Kaitlyn couldn't believe what he was telling her. Of course, she had plenty of questions, which Gary tried his best to answer. 

They made it to the gate just in time to see Chuck and Jade come off the plane. Chuck had on a brown turtleneck sweater, tan slacks, and a pair of sunglasses. Jade was also dressed to the nines in a tight black sweater and black stretch pants. 

"Gar!" Chuck screamed as he spotted Gary. He walked over, dropped his bag, and hugged him.

"Hey, buddy how ya doing?" Gary asked.

"Me, I'm fine. You, you I can't believe. Gar, you're getting married." Chuck said as he hugged Gary again.

"Chuck." Gary pulled away. "Do you remember Kaitlyn?" Gary said.

"Are you kidding me? You think I'm going to forget a beauty like this?" Chuck said as he grabbed Kaitlyn and hugged her.

"It's good to see you again Chuck." Kaitlyn said as she smiled at Gary.

"Jade how are you?" Gary said.

"I'm doing good Gary. Congratulations." Jade said as she awkwardly kissed Gary on the cheek.

"Jade, honey, this is Kaitlyn." Chuck said.

"It's nice to meet you." Kaitlyn said as she extended her hand.

"You too. You're one lucky lady." Jade said as she looked at Gary who, Kaitlyn noticed was obviously uncomfortable with the compliment.

"What do you say we go and get your luggage." Gary said trying to change the subject of the conversation. The foursome headed for the luggage claim.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The paper went easy on Gary over the next few days. He and Kaitlyn had time to go to Mike's office and have their blood work done. They went and applied for their marriage license and visited the jeweler to pick out their wedding bands. 

Gary was able to take care of the paper in between running wedding errands with Kaitlyn. He liked the fact that she was by his side. When he was called upon to break up a fight between two women in a toy store over a limited edition Barbie doll, Gary was getting no where fast trying to tell the two women they were being ridiculous. Kaitlyn stepped in and stopped the entire confrontation, with a gentle voice and a smile as she handed a Barbie doll to one of the women. Both women left the store with smiles on their faces.

"Where did you get that?" Gary asked.

"See that guy standing over there?" Kaitlyn said as she pointed to a man down the isle.

"Yeah." Gary said.

"I talked him into giving me his." Kaitlyn said with a shrug.

"How much did that cost me?" Gary asked.

"Nothing. I just gave him a sob story about how my daughter really wanted that doll for Christmas. So he gave it to me." Kaitlyn said nonchalantly as Gary looked at her and smiled.

"Should I be jealous?" Gary asked.

"No!" Kaitlyn said as she smacked him in the chest. "Come on lets go." She said as she grabbed his hand and lead him out of the store.

31200

Kaitlyn was sitting in the church office waiting for Gary it was 1:25. They were to meet with Reverend Manning at 1:00 to talk about the wedding date. She knew that he had some things to take care of with the paper. Gary had promised her, he would be there in plenty of time for their meeting. 

"Can I get you something to drink?" Reverend Manning said.

"No, thank you." Kaitlyn said as she looked at her watch. "Maybe I should reschedule. Gary is obviously running late and I don't want to hold you up. I'm sure you have other important things that you have to take care of.

"Oh, no don't worry about that. My schedule is open for this afternoon." He said with a smile. "We could start without him. If you want?" 

"Okay." Kaitlyn said.

"What date were you considering?" He asked.

"October 28th." Kaitlyn said.

"Next year?" He asked.

"No, this October 28th." Kaitlyn said.

"A week from tomorrow?" He asked.

"Yes." Kaitlyn said.

"Your mother was in yesterday. She thought you would be looking at something in June." He said.

"Well, well, see, Reverend I'm going to be up front with you. My mother isn't aware that we want to get married so soon. You see, um, Gary and I decided we want a small ceremony with just close family and friends. My mother wants this huge wedding and it has become sort of a fiasco. That's why we haven't told our parents. We're going to tell them the day of the wedding. But, we don't want to wait until June. We want to get married now. Is that a problem?" 

"Kaitlyn, since you moved here you have been a very important member of this Church. You have been through some tough times, enough for a lifetime." He hesitated. "I have gotten to know Gary these last few months as well. What is the reason for the rush." 

"Reverend, I appreciate everything that you and the members of this Church have done for me." Just as she was about to finish, the door to the office opened and in walked Gary. 

"I'm sorry. I got held up." Gary said. 

"It's okay Gary." He said. "Please have a seat. Kaitlyn was just filling me on the situation." Gary gave him an awkward smile. "We were discussing why there is such a rush for a wedding." 

"Well, we're ready to get married." Gary could tell that the answer he gave was not what the Reverend wanted to hear. He continued. "Kaitlyn and I love each other very much. We both have been through not so pleasant marriages before." Gary looked at Kaitlyn and took her hand. "From the moment I met her my life has been complete. I want to start that life with her now." He turned to the Reverend. "For me, there is no reason to wait." 

The Reverend hesitated for a moment. Looking at Gary then at Kaitlyn and back at Gary, he finally smiled and said, "That's a good enough reason for me. I think that we already have a wedding scheduled for next Saturday. But, let me just go out and check the book to see if we can work something out." He said as he headed out the door.

After the Reverend had left, Gary pulled the paper from his pocket. "We've got to wrap this up." He said.

"What?" Kaitlyn asked.

"I have a fire I have to get to." Gary said. "We just have to wrap this up." Reverend Manning came back into the room carrying his appointment book. Gary quickly closed the paper.

"Well, we already have a wedding scheduled for 1:00 next Saturday." He looked at Kaitlyn and saw the disappointment on her face. "But, we could do something around 11:00." 

"11:00 would be perfect." Gary said quickly. 

"Kaitlyn is that okay with you?" Reverend Manning asked.

"That's fine." Kaitlyn said.

"Then we'll see you at 11:00 on Saturday." Reverend Manning said.

"Is that it?" Gary asked.

"Unless there is something else you would like to talk about?" He asked.

"No. No, I don't think so. You ready, honey?" Gary asked Kaitlyn.

"Thank you." Kaitlyn said. 

As she and Gary walked out the Church door he turned to her and said, "Give me your keys."

"You can drive, but I'm coming with you." Kaitlyn said.

"Oh no. Fires are nothing to fool around with." Gary said. Kaitlyn stopped walking and put her hands on her hips in frustration.

"The only way you are going to get there on time is if you take my car. If you take my car you take me." Kaitlyn said.

"Fine." Gary said as he took the keys from her hand.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

They got into the Jeep and started out of the parking lot. Gary looked over at Kaitlyn and saw that she was upset. They drove in silence for awhile until Gary spoke first.

"Why are you so upset with me?" He asked.

"Why? Gary you told me that you were going to be there on time. You were almost a half hour late." Kaitlyn said.

"It couldn't be helped. I got tied up." Gary said.

"You could have called." Kaitlyn said. "We could have rescheduled. Then we had to rush out of there. He probably thinks were nuts. Wanting to get married so quickly." Kaitlyn said as she crossed her arms.

"You know what? Maybe we are nuts." Gary said in frustration as he stopped the car. 

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kaitlyn asked angrily. 

"I don't have time to argue with you about this right now. I'm already late." Gary said as he handed Kaitlyn the cell phone. "Call 911 and report a fire. Stay here." He said as the slammed the car door.

Kaitlyn watched Gary run across the street and head into the apartment building. She dialed 911 and reported the fire. After she hung up, she looked out the window. She felt awful. She knew what a great burden of responsibility the paper was for him. She felt terrible for coming down on him so hard. She would have to apologize and make it up to him, she thought to herself as she got out and stood by the car. 

Gary headed into the building. He was late. At this point, he knew he couldn't stop the fire. He just had to hope he could get everyone out safely. It was a small apartment building housing 10 apartments, 5 apartments on each floor. He looked at the paper. The fire was to start when an elderly man passes out with a cigarette in his hand. The only problem was Gary didn't know which apartment the fire would start in. He decided to pull the fire alarm. When he pulled it, nothing happened. 

"Great." He said disgusted.

He started knocking on doors and getting people to evacuate the building. He was in the process of evacuating the first floor when he heard smoke alarms going off. He got everyone out of the first floor. As he headed up to the second floor, people were already coming out of their apartments and heading down the stairs. He stopped a woman carrying a young child. 

"Where does the old man live?" Gary asked.

"Last apartment on the left. My brother is trying to get him out." The woman said as she hurried down the stairs.

Gary ran into the hallway, which was already filled with smoke. He ran into a man. 

"I can't get him to open the door." He screamed as he coughed. 

"I'll get him." Gary said as he headed down the hall. 

"Hey buddy, the smoke is to thick." The man screamed then ran down the stairs to exit the building.

When Gary got to the door, he was able to kick it in. The smoke was so thick he couldn't see anything. He got down on his knees and began to crawl into the apartment. The smoke was overwhelming and before Gary knew it, he collapsed on the floor.

Kaitlyn was waiting by the car when the fire trucks arrived. She saw a man run out of the building, pull a firefighter aside, and tell him something. She then noticed flames shooting from a second floor back window. As the firefighter headed into the building, she crossed the street and grabbed the man she saw talking with the firefighter.

"Hey, my fiancée went in there. Did you see him?" She asked frantically.

"He was trying to get Mr. Hanson out." The man said. "I told him the smoke was too thick. He didn't listen."

As she turned toward the building, she saw the firefighters carry someone out and place him or her on a paramedics gurney. They headed for the ambulance. She ran to the ambulance only to see that it was an elderly man. 

She ran to the firefighter, who brought out the old man and said, "My fiancée is in there. He was trying to get him out." 

"The hallway wall collapsed as we were trying to bring him out. They're getting him out now." He said.

"Is he okay." Kaitlyn screamed.

"I don't know, ma'am." He said.

"Oh, God." She cried as she saw them carry Gary out and lay him on a stretcher.

She ran over to the paramedic.

"Is he okay. Please tell me he is okay. Gary!" She cried as she stroked his hair.

"Ma'am he can't hear you he's unconscious." The paramedic said as they headed towards the ambulance.

"What hospital are you taking him to?" She asked.

"Chicago Memorial." He said as he put Gary into the ambulance. 

Kaitlyn stood and cried as the doors closed and the ambulance pulled away. She ran over to her car and followed as closely behind as she could. On the way to the hospital she called Marissa at McGinty's and told her what had happened. She asked her if she could get in touch with Gary's parents and have them meet her at the hospital.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

As she sat alone in the hospital emergency room, she replayed her last conversation with Gary over repeatedly in her mind. The last words that she spoke to him were out of anger and frustration. Why did she let him go into a dangerous situation and not tell him that she loved him? Now she may never get the chance. She covered her face with her hands and sobbed. The only thing that brought her out of her breakdown was the sound of Lois Hobson's voice.

"Kaitlyn, honey. What happened?" Lois said as she put her arms around her. 

"He went into that apartment and when he didn't come out…" She broke down in tears. 

"Have you talked to a doctor yet?" Bernie asked.

"No. They haven't told me anything." Kaitlyn cried.

"I'm going to see if I can find out anything Lo." Bernie said as he headed for the information desk.

"Gary is going to be fine, honey. I just know he is." Lois said as the tears now fell freely down her cheeks. "He has too much to live for. He has you and the girls and a whole new life ahead of him." 

Kaitlyn looked up at her. "We were fighting right before he went in there. Why did I fight with him?" She sobbed.

"It's going to be okay, honey." Lois said as she held her close. 

The next hour seemed to crawl by at a snails pace. Marissa, Chuck, and Jade had also come to the hospital. They all sat in the waiting room for any word on Gary's condition. The nurse had told Bernie that they were running some tests and that they would send a doctor out to speak with them. As Kaitlyn paced the room, she played with the engagement ring on her finger. 

"Kaitlyn, why don't you sit down." Chuck said.

"No, I don't want to sit. What is taking them so long? Can't they at least tell us if he is okay?" She cried.

"How about some coffee?" Chuck asked.

"No thank you." Kaitlyn said. She turned as she heard someone say, "Mr. and Mrs. Hobson?"

"I'm Dr. Jansen. I've been seeing to Gary." He said. "I'm sorry it took us so long to get you some information, we've just been swamped back there. 

"How is our son?" Lois asked as she took Kaitlyn's hand.

"Well, he is going to be okay. However, we are treating him for some smoke inhalation and a concussion. We just got him back from radiology. We did a CAT scan on him to make sure that he didn't have any internal injuries due to the wall collapsing on him. He's very lucky. He seems to only have sustained a slight shoulder bruise."

"Oh, thank God." Lois said as she squeezed Kaitlyn's hand.

"He has some minor cuts and scrapes on his face. We will want to monitor him for the next couple of days, because he was rendered unconscious and because of the smoke inhalation. We will have to do some oxygen therapy on him." He said.

"Can we see him?" Kaitlyn asked.

"He's a little groggy right now. However, you are welcome to come and see him. I wouldn't overwhelm him right now though. I would keep the visitors to a minimum maybe until tomorrow. As soon as we get a room ready, we're going to move him upstairs." He said.

"Thank you." Bernie said as he shook his hand. Lois grabbed Kaitlyn and hugged her.

"I told you he was going to be okay." Lois said. "Come on let's go see him."

"You go ahead and go and see him. He's going to want to see you." Kaitlyn said.

"Well honey, he's going to want to see you too." Lois said.

"I don't want to upset him." Kaitlyn said.

"Hey Bernie, why don't you take Lois on back to see Gary. Marissa and I want to talk to Kaitlyn." Chuck said.

"Okay." Bernie said. "Come on Lo." 

"Jade, honey, why don't you go and get us all some coffee." Chuck said as he kissed her on the cheek.

"Okay." Jade said as she headed out of the waiting room.

Kaitlyn sat down on the seat next to Marissa and put her head in her hands. Chuck squatted down in front of her. 

"Hey, Gar is a fighter. He's going to be okay." Chuck said as he put his hand on her knee.

"I think I'm the last person he is going to want to see." Kaitlyn said.

"Why?" Marissa asked.

"We had a fight before he went into that apartment." Kaitlyn said.

"Gar and I fight all the time." Chuck said. "I'm still his best friend."

"All this happened because of me." Kaitlyn said. "If I wouldn't have fought with him, he probably would have made it there on time and none of this would have happened."

"You don't know that." Marissa said. "Kaitlyn, Gary loves you very much.

"I love him, but it's hard to get used to him dealing with this paper. Maybe our relationship isn't what's best for him." She whispered with so much doubt in her voice. 

"Kaitlyn, Gary has had six years to deal with the paper. I think there are times that he isn't even used to it." Marissa said.

"Listen, we've known Gary for a long time, and I'm here to tell you that neither of us have ever seen him this happy before. He's usually Mr. Mood and Brood. But, since you he's actually 100% happy." Chuck said.

"Go on and see him." Marissa said. "Tell him all the things that you wished you would have said before he went into that building."

Kaitlyn shook her head in agreement, then leaned over, and hugged Marissa. She got up out of her seat and hugged Chuck. 

"Thank you. Gary is very lucky to have the two of you as friends." Kaitlyn said.

"Well, we're your friends now too." Marissa said.

"Yeah, and once you got us you can't ever get rid of us." Chuck joked.

Lois and Bernie returned to the waiting room. 

"They're taking him up to his room. Room 912." Bernie said.

"Kaitlyn, honey, he's asking for you." Lois said. "Why don't you go on up and see him."

"I going to go now." Kaitlyn said as she headed out of the room.

"Hey, why don't the rest of us go on down to the cafeteria and get something to eat." Bernie said.

"Yeah, hopefully we can catch Jade. I sent her for coffee." Chuck said as they all headed to the cafeteria. 


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

When Kaitlyn got to Gary's room, the nurses were still getting him settled. She stood out in the hallway and waited until they were finished. When she walked into the room, Gary was lying in bed on his back with his head turned toward the window. Kaitlyn stood in the doorway and watched him. When he turned his head, he saw her standing there staring at him.

"Hey." He said, his voice a whisper. He picked his hand up and reached for her. 

"Hi." Kaitlyn smiled and walked over to the bed. "You look like you got into a fight and lost." Kaitlyn joked.

"That bad, huh?" Gary said.

"You're still the most handsome man I've ever seen." Kaitlyn said as she took his hand and sat down on the bed facing him. 

"Mr. Hanson is going to be okay." She said. "He has some pretty bad smoke inhalation, but the doctor said he's going to make it." 

"Good. I was worried about that." Gary said.

They sat for a while and just looked at each other. Kaitlyn finally broke the silence.

"Gary, I was so scared when you didn't come out of that building." Kaitlyn said as the tears flowed down her cheeks. 

"Shh." Gary said as he pulled her head down on his chest. "I'm okay." He said.

"I love you so much." Kaitlyn sobbed.

"I know that." Gary said as he stroked her hair. "I love you." 

"I'm sorry I fought with you." Kaitlyn said as she looked up at him.

"Hey, I'm sure it won't be the last time we'll have a disagreement." Gary said as he started to cough.

"Are you okay?" She asked concerned. He shook his head yes as he continued to cough. "Do you want some water." 

"No." He said when he finished coughing. "Come on lay down here with me." Kaitlyn laid her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her.

"I think I like that raspy voice." She reached up and kissed him. "It's kind of sexy." 

"Yeah." He smiled as they fell asleep in each other's arms.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Gary spent the next two days in the hospital. Bernie and Chuck took care of the paper. When he was released, Kaitlyn insisted that he come home and stay with her. She wanted to take care of him. After two days of home rest, he told Kaitlyn that he was ready to deal with the paper. She reluctantly agreed, only on the condition that Chuck go along with him.

It was Thursday and everyone involved in the wedding planning was meeting at Marissa's for dinner. Kaitlyn's sisters, Marissa, and Jade had everything for the wedding planned right down to the flowers by Wednesday evening. They just wanted to go over some last minute details with Kaitlyn. Marissa was taking care of the luncheon following the ceremony. While the women were in the kitchen talking about the wedding, the men were in the living room. 

"Well Gar." Chuck said as he put his arm around Gary's shoulders. "The bachelor party will be tomorrow night." 

"Oh no. No. No. No." Gary said emphatically as he removed Chuck's arm from his shoulders. "There will be no bachelor party." 

"What do ya mean?" Chuck said. "We can't give you a send off into marital bliss without a bachelor party." 

"Absolutely not! No Chuck, no!" Gary said.

"Come on Gary, it won't be that bad." Mike said. "From what I hear Chuck has a great night planned."

"Yeah, I could use a night out." Greg said.

"Me too." Emmitt agreed.

"You guys don't seem to understand something. You see Chuck and bachelor parties, well, there is a history there that I really don't want to elaborate on." Gary said as he shot Chuck a look.

"Gary! Buddy! That was a long time ago." Chuck said turning to the other guys in the room. "You see, I hired these strippers.." Gary quickly cut him off.

"No! Chuck no bachelor party. I'm going to spend the evening with Kaitlyn." Gary said as he looked at Chuck. "Sorry guys." He said to the other men.

Later that evening, as the guys listened to Greg tell baseball stories. Chuck approached Kaitlyn, who was in the kitchen talking with Jade and Megan.

"Ladies." He said in a low voice as he came through the door. They started to laugh. He walked over and sat down next to Kaitlyn.

"Chuck, I'll give this to you, you definitely have a way about you." Kaitlyn laughed.

"You have no idea." Jade joked.

"All right, all right." He said as he put his hands in the air. "Just let me say my peace and I'll leave. Kaitlyn, I'm going to need your help with something."

"What?" She asked suspiciously.

"Well, it seems that your fiancée doesn't trust, me, his best man and best friend, I might add, to throw him a get together tomorrow evening." Chuck tried to put it delicately.

"A get together." Jade said. "I believe the right words are a bachelor party." Jade said to Kaitlyn.

"Call it what you will. He's telling me no. The guys, they're counting on me to come through for them. Now, because he is unwilling to cooperate, I'll be letting them down." Chuck said.

"What exactly do you have planned?" Kaitlyn asked.

"You know, just guy stuff. A little drinking, a few movies…" Chuck said innocently.

"And women." Jade said interrupting him.

"Honey. I am disappointed in you." Chuck said. "You are the love of my life. Other women need not bother." Jade looked at Kaitlyn and rolled her eyes.

"What exactly do you need from me Chuck?" Kaitlyn asked.

"All I need you to do is tell him that you have plans for tomorrow night. Maybe a night out with the girls, or something." Chuck said. "Come on Katie, the guy needs to have a little fun."

"You're not going to get him into any trouble are you?" Kaitlyn asked skeptically.

"Scouts honor." Chuck said as he raised his hand.

"I don't believe you were a scout, Chuck." Jade teased.

"Where is this little get together going to take place at?" Megan asked.

"A little club downtown." Chuck said under his breath.

"All right." Kaitlyn relented. Chuck hugged her. 

"Gary does not know how lucky he is." Chuck said. Kaitlyn laughed and turned to Jade. 

"Looks like you and me are going to have dinner tomorrow night." She said as they all smiled.

On the way home from Marissa's, Gary as expected, asked Kaitlyn to have dinner with him the next night. 

"I can't." She said innocently. "I already told Jade that I would have dinner with her."

"Jade?" Gary asked.

"Yeah. I figured you would want to go out with Chuck. I thought it would be nice if Jade and I got to know each other better. I mean she is married to your best friend. I think she's nice." Kaitlyn said.

"So you're going to have dinner with Jade and I have to go out with Chuck?" Gary asked and Kaitlyn nodded. 

"Oh that can't be good." He said under his breath.

The next night when Gary opened the door to the loft he not only found Chuck, but, Mike, Greg and Emmitt. 

"Chuck I thought I told you no bachelor party." Gary said.

"Gary, Buddy. We're going to a fine establishment. It's just us guys going out for a nice night." Chuck said as he patted his friend on the back. 


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The "club" Chuck took them to was in a seedy part of town. When they walked up to the door, Gary said, "What kind of a club is this?" 

"Gar, it's an after hours place. A friend of mine told me about it." Chuck smiled. "We can stay here till the wee hours of the morning." 

After they got into the club, to Gary's dismay it was in fact a strip club. The other guys wanted to stay so they all sat down at the table that had been reserved for them up front. After Gary had a few beers, he started to loosen up a bit. This wasn't so bad, he thought. 

"What do you think Gar?" Chuck asked as he waived some money at the girl dancing in front of them.

"It's not so bad, Chuck. I'm sorry that I misjudged your intentions." Gary said with a smile.

"Hey guys, I think we should pitch in and get Gary a lap dance." Chuck said as the guys started to laugh.

"No thanks." Gary said quickly.

"Okay Gar, you can just sit here and enjoy the view with some friends." Chuck smiled. "Here, at least give the girl some money." Chuck said as he handed Gary a five-dollar bill. 

Gary reluctantly placed the money into the girl's g-string. She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. 

"You're cute." She smiled. Gary blushed. 

Before he knew it someone grabbed him from behind and said, "Hey! That's my girlfriend." 

Gary turned around to find a very large burly man, dressed in biker attire, standing behind him. 

"He's so jealous." The girl said.

"Hey, buddy, I didn't do anything, she kissed me." Gary said honestly. "What'll you say I buy you a beer?" Gary said.

"She kissed you, huh?" The guy said as he looked at his girlfriend. "Not likely." Then he punched Gary in the stomach. 

Gary doubled over in pain. Chuck jumped onto the guys' back and cracked him over the head with a beer bottle. A fight ensued and everyone in Gary's party got involved. 

The next thing Gary knew he was sitting in a holding cell at the 23rd precinct. He watched as Greg sat outside of the cell and signed autographs for all of the police officers. Emmitt and Mike sat on the bench across from him with the biker from the strip club. Chuck sat next to Gary.

"I can't believe I trusted you, again." Gary said loudly. "Not only am I sitting in a jail cell the night before my wedding, but if I do get out and am able to get married, it's going to be with a black eye." 

"Gar I had no idea this would happen." Chuck said innocently. "Why don't you pass some blame on to gigantor over there." 

"You better shut that little fella up." The biker said as he stood up. 

"Calm down guys." Emmitt said as he stood. "Gary we're all sorry this happened." 

"Are you seriously getting married tomorrow, man?" The biker asked.

"Hopefully." Gary groaned as he touched his eye.

"Listen man, I'm sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusion. It's just she drives me crazy." The biker said. "You know, if you don't press any charges and I don't press any charges all they got on us is disorderly conduct. That's probably a fine." 

"Gary Hobson! You're out of here." 

Gary turned to see a police officer coming towards the holding cell. He reached down and unlocked the door.

"Bail's been posted." The officer said as he directed Gary out of the cell.

"What about us?" Chuck asked.

"Hobson only." The officer said as Gary shrugged and followed the police officer.

"Gar! Garrrry!" He heard Chuck scream.

When Gary got out into the hallway, he saw Kaitlyn standing at the front desk writing something. Gary walked up to her as he saw her rip a check out of her checkbook and hand it to the officer.

"Kaitlyn." Gary said sheepishly. She turned and looked at him sympathetically. 

"Gary, what did he get you in to?" She said as she touched his eye.

"Ouch." Gary flinched.

"Sorry. I posted your bail." She said.

"What about the guys?" Gary asked.

"Their wives want them to sit for a little while longer." Kaitlyn said. "Come on let's go home." 


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

On the way to Kaitlyn's Gary explained to her what had happened at the club. 

"Why wouldn't the paper warn me about this?" He asked. "You know the fact that Greg was arrested is going to be front page news on the sports page tomorrow." 

"I doubt it." Kaitlyn said as she glanced over at him and then back at the road. "His agent is in town. I saw him when I got to the station. He'll pay somebody off and the press won't find out about it. That's why it wasn't in the paper." She said.

It was quiet when they walked into the house.

"Were are the girls?" He asked.

"Our folks took them out to dinner and a movie. Go on in and sit down. I'll get you some ice for that eye." Kaitlyn said as she took off her coat and headed into the kitchen. 

Gary went into the living room, took off his coat, and sat down on the couch. Kaitlyn came in and handed him a bag of frozen peas.

"Sorry that's all I have. Jessica never lets me know she is taking the last of the ice, so I can fill the tray." She said as she sat down next to him. He gingerly placed it on his eye. 

"I am going to kill Chuck when I get my hands on him." She said angrily. "That's if Jade doesn't do it first."

"It really wasn't his fault." Gary said quietly. 

Gary sat with the bag of frozen vegetables on his eye, until it started to melt. He handed it to Kaitlyn and she took it into the kitchen. When she came back in the living room, she sat back down on the couch next to him. 

"We haven't had very much time to spend alone together. What with my mother hovering over me since the accident. I'm sorry about tonight." Gary said and he put his arm around her and pulled her close. 

"It's okay. I'm just glad you're all right." Kaitlyn said. She reached up and kissed him. "Did you finish your wedding vows?"

"Yes, I know exactly what I am going to say to you." Gary smiled; he was obviously pleased with himself. 

"Hey, I picked up our rings today." Kaitlyn said. 

"Where are they?" Gary asked. 

"They're in my room." Kaitlyn got up, grabbed Gary's hand, and pulled him to his feet. "Come on." She said as she headed upstairs.

When they got to the bedroom Gary noticed the pile of clothes thrown over the chair. There were some dresser drawers open, but empty. Kaitlyn walked over to the nightstand and picked up two boxes. 

"What are you doing in here?" Gary asked.

"What do you mean?" Kaitlyn asked.

"What are you cleaning house?" Gary asked jokingly.

"No, I'm making room for my future husband." Kaitlyn smiled.

"Oh." Gary smiled. Kaitlyn opened the first box. She and Gary had chosen plain platinum bands with their names and wedding date inscribed on the inside.

"Here this one is mine." She said as she handed it to Gary. "This one is yours." 

"Should we see if they fit?" Gary asked as he pulled her ring from the box. He gently picked up her hand and placed the ring on her finger. "With this ring, I thee wed." Gary said.

They smiled. She took his ring from the box and placed it on his finger. 

"With this ring, I thee wed." Kaitlyn said. They sealed their commitment with a kiss.

"I can't wait to be your wife." Kaitlyn whispered against his lips. 

"I can't wait for you to be my wife." Gary smiled as he kissed her again. 

As the kiss grew more passionate, Gary backed Kaitlyn up to the bed. Before they knew it, they were both lying on the bed. He began to unbutton her blouse. She suddenly pulled away and sat up.

"Gary, we shouldn't do this." She said as she began to re-button her blouse.

"What?" Why not?" Gary asked.

"Well, you just got out of the hospital a few days ago. We need to find out from the doctor if it is okay to, you know." Kaitlyn said.

"I'm fine. My doctor knows that we're getting married tomorrow. He didn't say anything about us not making love." Gary whispered.

"Don't you think that is something we need ask him?" Kaitlyn asked.

"If we're getting married, what do you think he thinks we're going to be doing?" Gary asked. Kaitlyn blushed.

"Well, you'll just have to save it for tomorrow night." Kaitlyn said looking at Gary seductively. "Besides, for what I have planned, you're going to need all the strength you can get." She whispered in his ear. Gary looked at her and swallowed hard.

"Tomorrow night can't come soon enough for me. I think we need to go downstairs where things are slightly less tempting." Gary said as he got up off the bed and headed for the door. 

"Hey, give me your ring." Kaitlyn said. Gary took the ring off his finger as he walked back over to her. As he put the ring in her hand, he leaned in and kissed her. 

"I love you." He whispered. Kaitlyn smiled and returned the rings to their boxes.

"I love you." She said giving him a quick kiss before they headed downstairs.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

When Gary awoke the next morning, it was with a smile on his face. It was his wedding day. This was the first day of the rest of his life. Gary sat up on the couch and noticed his mother was already awake and in the kitchen pouring herself some coffee. 

"Morning honey." She said when she noticed him.

"Morning." He said. "Where's Dad?" Gary asked.

"He's in the shower. Gary what happened to your eye?" Lois asked.

"It's a long story Mom. I'm okay." Gary said.

"Want some coffee?" She asked.

Meow. Thump. Gary got up. "Coffee sounds good." He said and headed for the door.

When he opened the door, the cat came into the loft. Gary reached down and picked up the paper. He looked through it thoroughly. Nothing, he thought. He checked again. A huge smile spread across his face. 

"I can't believe this." Gary said as Bernie came out of the bathroom. 

"What wrong son? Nice shiner." Bernie said. Lois walked over and handed Gary his coffee.

"I have absolutely nothing to take care of today." Gary said. 

"You know since you have some time off, maybe we can get together with Kaitlyn and her mother and finalize some wedding plans." Gary looked at his mother and swallowed hard.

"Mom, Dad, you both need to sit down, I need to tell you something." Gary said as he guided them to the couch. Lois and Bernie sat down. 

"What is it Gary? Something didn't happen between you and Kaitlyn, did it?" Lois asked concerned.

"No. No, Mom, Kaitlyn, and I are fine. In fact, we're better than fine." Gary smiled. "You see, well, we're getting married, today." Gary stuttered as he said the words.

"Oh Gary, don't joke around like that." Lois said as she smiled at him.

"Mom, I'm not joking around. Kaitlyn and I are getting married today. We've made all the arrangements." Gary said.

"Today? You're getting married today?" Lois said as she stood up. 

"Way to go Gar!" Bernie said as he stood up next to his wife. 

"Gary, why didn't you tell us before now?" Lois asked.

"Well, Mom we wanted it this way. Listen I know that you and Mrs. Kelly were looking forward to a big wedding, but that is not what Kaitlyn and I want. We want something simple and that is what we are going to have today." Gary said. 

"But, June was going to be such a nice time for a wedding, Gary." Lois said disappointed.

"Mom, look at it this way. The sooner Kaitlyn and I get married the sooner we can start working on those grandchildren of yours." Gary said flashing her a smile. 

"Ha, ha. Like I said Lo, he's a chip off the old block." Bernie beamed as he slapped Gary on the back. Lois smiled and grabbed her son and hugged him.

"I love you Gary. I love Kaitlyn. I just want you to be happy." She said with a tear in her eye.

"Mom, I'm happier than I ever thought I could be." Gary smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

"Oh, my God. What am I going to wear?" Lois asked frantically.

"Mom, Kaitlyn helped Jade and Marissa pick something out for you to wear. She and Chuck are going to bring it by this morning along with Dad's suit." Gary said trying to calm her down. "I've seen what they picked out and I happen to think it's perfect. This is not going to be real formal."

"Well what time is the wedding?" Lois asked.

"It's at 11:00." Gary said. 

"11:00. Oh my. That's only four hours away." Lois said as she headed for the bathroom. Gary rolled his eyes. 

"Women." Bernie mumbled then turned to Gary. 

"I'm going to go down to the office and give Kaitlyn a call." Gary said as he put on his jeans and headed out the door. He went downstairs and sat down at the office desk. He picked up the telephone and dialed.

"Hello." Kaitlyn said.

"Good morning, beautiful." Gary smiled.

"It is a good morning. I think it could be the best morning of my life." Kaitlyn said. "How's your eye?"

"Black and blue." Gary said. "What are you doing?" Gary asked.

"Lying here in bed. Thinking about the man I'm going to marry, today." Kaitlyn smiled. "Did you tell your parents?"

"Yeah, I just did. My mother has already locked herself in the bathroom and started to get ready. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a shower sometime this morning." Gary said. "How did your folks take the news?" 

"Well, my mom reacted the same way. I just got off the telephone with her. She's on her way over." Kaitlyn said.

"I better let you go then. I just wanted to say that I love you." Gary smiled.

"Gary?" Kaitlyn said.

"What's wrong?" Gary asked.

"Did you look at the paper? Are you going to make the wedding?" Kaitlyn asked concerned. 

"There is nothing in the paper today. I have the entire day off. I'll be at the church on time. I promise." Gary said softly.

"You do?" Kaitlyn smiled. "Okay. I guess I'll see you at the church. I'll be the one wearing white." 

"I'll be waiting." Gary said. "I love you."

"I love you too." Kaitlyn said as she hung up the telephone. 


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The next few hours went by quickly. Before Gary knew it, he was standing on the front steps of the church in his navy blue suit and light blue shirt and matching tie. Everyone else had arrived. He was waiting for Kaitlyn and her sisters. It was a crisp, beautiful autumn day as he stood on those steps and soaked in the warmth of the sunshine. 

"Sorry about last night." Chuck said as he came up behind him.

"It's okay. Kaitlyn wasn't upset with me." Gary smiled. "What about your wife?" 

"Let's just say, I had everybody's wife after me last night." Chuck said as Gary laughed.

"Nervous buddy." Chuck said as he put his hand on his shoulder.

"A little." Gary said. 

"Listen, I'm not going to give you any advice, because I know you're not going to need it." Chuck said.

"When have I ever taken advice from you anyway?" Gary asked as he smiled.

"That's very funny Gar. You're a real comedian." Chuck said. "I was just going to tell you to be happy."

"Thanks, Chuck." Gary said as he shook his hand. Chuck pulled him in for a hug. Marissa and Emmitt walked up the stairs to join them. 

"Well, this is it." Marissa said to Gary.

"I'm going to go into the church and leave you three alone to talk." Emmitt said. "Gary, good luck to you." Emmitt said as he shook Gary's hand.

"Thank you." Gary said.

"Who would have ever thought a few years ago that the three of us would be married?" Chuck asked.

"Well, we definitely didn't think you were going to be married." Marissa said sarcastically. Gary laughed.

"Hey, I was the first one of us to bite the dust." Chuck said. "We're still going strong. In fact…" Chuck hesitated. "I'll tell you guys later."

"Tell us what?" Gary asked.

"No this is your day, Gar. We'll talk later." Chuck said.

"Oh no, Chuck, you brought it up. Spill it will ya." Gary said.

"Yeah, Chuck what is it?" Marissa asked.

"What?" Chuck asked. "I happen to have some news of my own." 

"What kind of news?" Gary asked.

"Well, Jade and I have decided to move back to Chicago." Chuck said.

"You have? Since when?" Gary asked.

"We've been talking about it for awhile now." Chuck said. "And with the baby coming." Chuck stopped.

"Baby?" Gary and Marissa said it at the same time.

"All right. We're having a baby. Jade just found out." Chuck said.

"Chuck that's terrific." Gary smiled.

"Congratulations, Chuck." Marissa said.

"Who would have ever thought that you of all people, a father." Gary said as he laughed and shook his head.

"Hey, knock it off wise-guy, will ya. It happens to be a very sensitive issue with me." Chuck said.

"I'll say." Gary said as he laughed. 

"What is so funny?"

Gary turned around and saw Kaitlyn with a smile on her face. She took his breath away. She was wearing a straight strapless dress of ivory taffeta with an embroidered bodice with multi-colored shades of green and fuschia beaded flowers. A matching wrap adorned her shoulders. Her hair was pulled up on top of her head with tiny white flowers and she was carrying a bouquet of white roses.

"Shut your mouth Gar, the flies are going to get in." Chuck said jokingly. Gary shot him a look and then turned his attentions back to Kaitlyn.

"You look beautiful." He said to her.

"Thank you." She said. "You look pretty handsome yourself. The black eye goes good with the suit. You ready to get married?" 

"You bet." Gary said as he took her hand and led her into the church.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Since it was an informal ceremony, everyone took their seats and Gary and Kaitlyn stood at the altar. Megan and Emily stood behind Kaitlyn along with Jessica and Casey. Chuck stood behind Gary. Unknown to anyone in the church, the cat sat on the open windowsill.

"Are we ready to begin?" Reverend Manning asked.

"Yes." Gary said.

"We are here today to witness the joining of Kaitlyn and Gary in holy matrimony. Take her hand." Gary reached down and took Kaitlyn's hands in his. "Gary, do you take Kaitlyn to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do." Gary smiled.

"Kaitlyn do you take Gary to be your lawfully wedded husband?" Reverend Manning asked.

"I do." Kaitlyn smiled.

"I understand that the two of you have written and would like to recite your own vows. So, Gary would you like to start?" He asked.

"Yes, thank you Reverend." Gary said as he looked into Kaitlyn's eyes. "Kaitlyn, I have never been one who has been big on words, but today I'm going to speak to you from my heart." He swallowed hard. "God has given us a second chance at happiness and I praise Him for that. I come here today to give you my love, to give you my heart and my hope for our future together. I promise to bring you joy, to be at home with your spirit and to learn to love you more each day, through all the days of our lives. I promise to be your faithful husband; my love for you is seamless, endless and eternal." Gary reached up and wiped a tear from Kaitlyn's cheek.

"That was beautiful." She said.

"Kaitlyn." Reverend Manning said.

"Gary, I take you to be my husband, secure in the knowledge that you will be my constant friend, my faithful partner in life, and my one true love. On this special day, I give to you in the presence of God and our families my sacred promise to stay by your side as your wife in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, as well as through the good times and the bad. I promise to love you without reservation, comfort you in times of distress, laugh with you and cry with you, grow with you in mind and spirit, always be open and honest with you, and cherish you for as long as we both shall live." Gary smiled. 

"Can we have the rings?" Reverend Manning looked at Chuck.

Chuck started to fumble with his pocket like he was looking for them. Gary gave him a slightly irritated look as Chuck pulled the rings from his pocket.

"Don't worry Gar, I wouldn't let you down." Chuck said as he smiled. "Not today anyway." Gary took the rings and handed them to the Reverend.

"Gary place this ring on Kailtyn's finger and repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed." He said.

Gary picked up Kaitlyn's hand and as he put the ring on her finger said, "With this ring, I thee wed." 

He handed Kaitlyn Gary's ring. "Kaitlyn, repeat after me, with this ring, I thee wed." 

"With this ring, I thee wed." Kaitlyn said as she put the ring on Gary's finger.

"Congratulations. Gary you can kiss your bride." Reverend Manning said.

Gary and Kaitlyn smiled at each other. He put his hand on the side of her face and kissed his wife passionately as their family and friends applauded. 

"I love you." He whispered when he pulled away from her.

"I love you." Kaitlyn smiled. 


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

After the wedding, everyone headed to the Kaitlyn's for brunch. Gary had insisted that the girls ride with Megan back to the house. 

"Why can't they come with us?" She asked as Gary helped her into the car.

"Because, we have to make a quick stop on the way." Gary said giving her a sly smile as he closed the car door. 

"What kind of stop? What are you planning?" Kaitlyn asked suspiciously when he got into his seat.

"You'll see." Gary smiled and he started the car.

During the ride, though she kept quiet, Gary could tell that her mind was racing. He knew that he had sparked her curiosity. When he stopped the car, the look on Kaitlyn's face was of complete bewilderment.

"We're here." Gary said as he got out of the car and walked around and opened her door. 

"We're at the park." She said as he took her hand and helped her out of the car.

"See, that's where you're wrong. It's not just any park." Gary smiled and led her to the exact spot where they had met four months ago. "You see this was the exact spot where I fell in love with you."

"I didn't realize you were such a romantic." She smiled.

"Well, then I guess I better work on that." He smiled then kissed her softly.

"I like it when you surprise me." She said.

"Good, because I have something for you." He said, as he reached into his suit coat pocket and pulled out a tiny satin bag. He looked into her eyes. "My mother gave this to me a few days ago after I told her that we were getting married. She said that she waited her whole life to give it to me. You see she told me that this is something that has been passed down in the Hobson family for generations. The first son of the family is to give it to his bride on their wedding day as a wedding present. Only, when I married Marcia, she didn't give to me. I guess she knew what I didn't know at the time. Anyway, she wants you to have it, so that someday our first son can pass it onto his bride." 

Gary opened the snap on the bag and pulled out an antique sapphire and diamond ring. He picked up her right hand and slid it on her ring finger. 

"How about that. Perfect fit." He smiled.

"Gary, it's beautiful and I would be honored to wear it." She said as she started to cry.

"I love you Mrs. Hobson." He whispered as he wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"I love you." She said as Gary leaned in and kissed her.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

When they got back to the house, everyone was already there. As they walked up onto the front porch Gary suddenly picked her up. 

"Gary! What are you doing?" Kaitlyn asked surprised.

"I'm going to carry my bride over the threshold." He said with a smile.

When they got inside the door, Gary gently set her down and gave his bride a passionate kiss. Chuck walked into the foyer and saw them.

"Will you two get a room already." He joked.

"Shut up Chuck." Gary said with a smile and went back to kissing his wife. 

Marissa had taken care of everything for the brunch. McGinty's had done the catering and there was a huge buffet set out in the dining room. Everyone ate, talked, and enjoyed themselves. 

Gary smiled when he caught a glimpse of his wife and mother embracing. Kaitlyn then turned to show Jade, Emily, and Megan the ring he had given her. He headed into the kitchen, where he found his father and Chuck deep in conversation. Marissa was standing in between them. 

"What are you two in a huddle about?" Gary asked suspiciously. "Marissa, I know you have enough sense not to get suckered into any of their schemes."

"Gar!" Bernie said quickly.

"You know what? I think I will leave you gentlemen alone." Marissa said with a smile and headed back into the living room. 

"Hey buddy. How's it feel to be a married man again?" Chuck asked as he slapped Gary on the back.

"I'd have to say it feels pretty good." Gary smiled as he walked to the counter to get something to drink.

"So, where's the honeymoon?" Bernie asked.

"What?" Gary said.

"The honeymoon. Gar, you are taking Kaitlyn away on a honeymoon, right?" Bernie said.

"And leave the paper to you two?" Gary asked. "I don't think so." 

"Come on Gar." Bernie said.

"Dad, Kaitlyn and I have already talked about this. She understands." Gary said.

"Bern, didn't I tell you he was going to say that." Chuck said as Bernie nodded in agreement. He then turned to Gary. "Okay Romeo, where are you two going to spend the night?" Chuck asked.

"Here." Gary said quickly. Bernie and Chuck just looked at him. "Megan is going to keep the girls for the night." 

"Some wedding night." Chuck said as he and Bernie snickered. Gary gave them both an irritated look. "It's a good thing he has me." Chuck said to Bernie. "I booked you the honeymoon suite at the Chicago Hilton for three nights." He handed Gary the key. "That way you're here in town and you can take care of the paper. Megan is going to watch the girls. She packed Kaitlyn a bag. Yours is out in my car." Chuck said.

"I don't know what to say." Gary said. "Thank you." 

"It's the least I can do for your buddy." Chuck said as he patted Gary on the back.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Later, when Gary and Kaitlyn arrived at the honeymoon suite, they found a chilled bottle of champagne. 

"Should I open this?" Gary asked as he took off his jacket and tie.

"Okay. I'll be right back." Kaitlyn said as she grabbed her bag. Gary grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close.

"Don't take too long, because you know I spoke to my doctor this morning and he gave me the green light on all wedding activities." Gary said alluringly. Then gave his wife a passionate kiss that when it ended, left her legs feeling weak.

"Hmm good. You're going to need a lot of stamina for what I have planned for tonight." Kaitlyn whispered in his ear. "I think I'll leave you with that thought." She smiled and then turned and headed for the bathroom.

When Kaitlyn emerged from the bathroom, she saw Gary struggling with the cork on the champagne bottle. 

"Need some help with that?" She asked.

When Gary heard her, he turned. "No, I think I…" He swallowed hard. He was speechless when he saw his wife standing in front of him wearing an ivory satin negligee with spaghetti straps. She had taken her hair down and it cascaded to her shoulders.

"I didn't think that it was possible for you to look any more beautiful than you did today during our wedding, but you surprise me again." He said with a smile.

Kaitlyn walked over, took the champagne bottle from his hands, and returned it to the ice bucket. "I think maybe we should save this for later." 

She smiled as she then reached up and started to unbutton his shirt and then removed it. She then pulled his t-shirt over his head. She placed her hands on his chest, then began to plant soft kisses across his collarbone. She could feel Gary's heartbeat accelerate and his breathing became heavy. When she pulled away, she looked up at him, and smiled.

"I like the way you think, Mrs. Hobson." Gary whispered as he leaned in and kissed her. He then made his way down to kiss her neck. 

He kissed his way down to her shoulder, gently moving the straps of the negligee, allowing it to fall to the floor in a puddle of fabric at her feet. After a loving kiss, he picked her up and carried her to the bed where they spent their first night as husband and wife. 


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

They newlyweds spent the next three days and nights in marital paradise. Gary was able spend the much needed time alone with his bride. A few times, he relied on his parents and Chuck for assistance with the paper, but for the most part the paper went easy on him. Gary and Kaitlyn were able to start their new life together in serenity. 

After the short honeymoon, Gary got busy with the paper. He joked to Kaitlyn that it was probably payback for their three glorious days together. 

Since the wedding was so quick, Gary had little time before the wedding to pack up any of his belongings and move them into the house. After Gary's parents headed back to Hickory, Kaitlyn decided she would go over to the loft and pack up some of Gary's things. 

She was there for about an hour, when Gary found her. When he opened the door, she was folding some of his shirts that she had pulled out of the armoire and placing them into a suitcase. 

"Marissa told me I'd find my you up here." He said as he walked over to her.

"I thought you were going to be busy all day." Kaitlyn smiled. "I figured you were getting pretty tired of living out of a suitcase."

"I have a few hours, I stopped by to get something to eat. It's a good thing I didn't go home to spend time with my wife, though." Gary joked as he kissed her. "You know, as long as I'm here and you're here, alone, and there is that big comfortable bed, we could fulfill another appetite of mine." Gary said as he continued to kiss her. 

"As tempting as that is…," She said as she pulled away. "I came here for a reason, and unfortunately that wasn't it. But, maybe I could fill that appetite for you later." She said with a smile as she turned and headed towards the armoire.

"I'm going to hold you to that." He said. "You don't have to do this." 

"I don't mind." Kaitlyn said as she opened the drawer and scooped up Gary's socks. She started to walk over to the suitcase when she heard something like metal hit the hardwood floor. "What was that?" She asked as she tried to look at the floor. She dropped the socks onto the bed. 

"I don't know." Gary said as he started to look around. 

He saw Kaitlyn bend down and pick something up. She looked at it then handed it to him. It was a gold wedding band, his wedding band from his marriage to Marcia. He looked up at his wife, who had turned her attentions to putting his socks into the suitcase. 

"I forgot I had this." He said tentatively. Kaitlyn shrugged, not looking in his direction. "I'm sorry." 

"For what?" Kaitlyn turned and looked at him.

"I probably should have gotten rid of this a long time ago." Gary conceded as he walked over and dropped the ring into the trashcan.

"It's not the end of the world." Kaitlyn smiled. "Although, is there anything else around here you might want to throw away before I get my hands on it?" She joked. 

Gary looked around the loft and spotted what he was looking for. He walked over to the shelf and picked up the model boat, Meridian. Kaitlyn watched as he made a face when the mast fell, then walked over, and dropped it into the trash. 

"I don't want that anymore either." Gary said with a sigh. Kaitlyn looked at him like he was a lunatic.

"Whatever." She said as she rolled her eyes and turned her attentions back to packing his clothes.

Over the next hour, Gary and Kaitlyn packed up the belongings he wanted to take with him. They had decided they would leave all of his furniture in the loft. His parents could stay there when they visited. 

When Gary came across an old shoebox filled with pictures, he and Kaitlyn sat down and went through them. They were mostly pictures of him as a child and young adult. As Gary looked through the pictures of him and Chuck, Kaitlyn found a stray picture at the bottom of the box. She picked it up. It was Gary and a woman and it looked like they were sitting on a boat.

"She's pretty. Who's this?" Kaitlyn asked as she turned the picture in Gary's direction.

"That's Marcia." Gary said cautiously as he cleared his throat. 

Kaitlyn started to put it all together and said, "Hence the throwing away of the boat." 

Gary shrugged, taking the picture from her hand and ripping it in half. He then got up, walked over, and threw it into the trashcan. Kaitlyn in the meantime got up and began to pick up the other pictures and return them to the shoebox. Gary walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist. 

"I love you." He whispered into her ear then kissed her cheek. She turned in his arms.

"I love you too." She said and then kissed him. "Don't you ever forget that." She joked.

"I won't. I promise." Gary smiled and continued their kiss. 


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

The next few months went by quickly. Gary very easily settled into his new life. Chuck and Jade had completed their relocation back to Chicago. Jade had taken a job as a production assistant for a local production company. When Chuck first moved back, he had no idea what line of business he was going to explore. Gary spoke with Marissa and they both decided to give him back a one-third share in McGinty's. That way, Marissa would have more time to spend with Emmitt and Gary with Kaitlyn and the girls. 

On the first day in December the City of Chicago came to standstill when it received it's first major winter storm. Old man winter dumped 10 inches of snow on the Windy City. 

Due to the snow, Gary had a full day with the paper. It was late afternoon as he made his way up the steps onto the front porch of his home. His thoughts were on hot chocolate and snuggling up on the couch in front of the fireplace with his wife and watching television with his family. 

When he entered the house, he found Kaitlyn helping Casey put on her boots. Jessica had her coat on and was putting on her mittens. Kaitlyn turned and smiled when she saw him. 

"Where are you going?" He asked as he took off his hat and started to remove his gloves.

"To get a Christmas tree." Casey said. Kaitlyn smiled.

"What?" Gary asked surprised. "There is 10 inches of snow out there." Gary said as he pointed towards the door.

"I have 4-wheel drive." Kaitlyn said as she helped Casey on with her coat.

"We are not going to get a Christmas tree tonight." Gary said as he unzipped his coat and took it off.

"Well you don't have to go if you don't want too, but I'm going. The girls are going to stay with my mother until I come back." Kaitlyn said.

"This is crazy." Gary argued.

"Gary it's December 1st. That's when we get our tree. It's a tradition that I'm not breaking because of a little snow." Kaitlyn said defensively. Gary stared at her in disbelief.

"Mommy are we not getting the tree?" Jessica asked disappointed.

"Jess, I'm going to go and get the tree. If Daddy doesn't want to come, he doesn't have to." Kaitlyn said as she put Jessica's hat on her head.

"I want Daddy to help you pick it out." Casey said with a pout as she walked over and grabbed Gary's leg. He saw the look of disappointment on her face. He looked at Kaitlyn who was busy putting on her boots.

"This is screwy." He said looking at her. "Where exactly are you going?" 

"It's a place outside of town where you cut your own tree down." Kaitlyn said.

"It's almost dark out." Gary said.

"There is enough light left. It's not that far. Besides, I was waiting for you. Obviously, that was a mistake. I should have just left." Kaitlyn said angrily.

"So what you're going to walk, alone out into the woods, cut down a tree and drag it back to the jeep? Oh wait, and I have to add in almost a foot of snow!" Gary said sarcastically.

"It's a tree farm, I won't be out in the woods! Gary Hobson, for your information, for the past three years I have done just fine, thank you very much. I don't need your help with this and I definitely don't need your permission." Kaitlyn said angrily as she put on her coat.

"What are you sore at me for? I didn't make it snow." Gary said irritated. Kaitlyn looked at Gary. He could tell that she was more than annoyed at his last remark. 

She grabbed her gloves off the step and then Casey's hand and said, "Come on girls." Then she stormed out of the house. Jessica followed close behind.

Gary groaned as he grabbed his coat and threw it on. He picked up his hat and gloves and headed out the door to follow. 

They dropped the girls off at her mothers and headed out. Neither spoke during the ride to the tree farm. The roads weren't as bad as Gary anticipated they would be, so he felt bad that he had made such a fuss. 

As they walked through the snow looking for a tree, Gary became more irritated. He quickly began to suggest trees, just so she would settle on one and they could head home.

"How about this one?" He pointed.

"That's too big." Kaitlyn said with her arms crossed.

"What about this one?" He said.

"Too small." She said quickly. He cleared his throat.

"What's wrong with this one?" He said.

"It's too bushy." She said irritated.

"Kaitlyn, I'm cold, I'm tired and I'm hungry. Will you just pick a tree!" Gary said angrily.

"Fine!" She said in a huff as she stormed over to the closest tree and said, "This one!" 

Gary walked over and began to cut the tree down. When it fell to the ground, he dragged it to the wrapping machine. Kaitlyn walked over, got into the Jeep, and waited. After the attendant helped him tie it to the roof rack, Gary got into the Jeep. 

"You could have started the car." He said annoyed as he started the car and blasted the heat. "Are you happy now!" He said as he pulled out onto the road. Kaitlyn didn't even look at him; she just stared out the window. 

After they were on the road for about 10 minutes, Gary looked over and saw her wipe a tear from her cheek. He swallowed hard and then pulled over onto the side of the road.

"What are you doing?" She asked surprised.

"Stopping the car." He said softly. They sat in silence until Gary said, "What's wrong? Will you just talk to me, please." He pleaded. She looked over at him with her tear stained face.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"I know this obviously means something to you. I don't know what and I can't figure it out on my own. You have to tell me." He said sympathetically as he placed his arm around her shoulders.

"When I first moved here, I wasn't in the best of conditions, mentally. I was a basket case with my marriage ending and having to two babies to support. For the first few months of Casey's life, I was really depressed. The doctors told me it was normal for a new mother to go through what they called post pardom depression. But, it was so much more than that." She cried. Gary didn't know what to say. She quickly regained her composure and continued.

"On December 1st of that year, I dragged myself out of bed and came and picked out a Christmas Tree. I brought it home and I spent the rest of the night decorating it. Then I just sat on the couch and looked at it. Getting that tree was an accomplishment that I made on my own. That was when I knew I was going to be okay and that there was no where to go but up. So every year since then, I come on December 1st and get a tree." Kaitlyn shrugged. Gary wiped her cheek with the back of his hand.

"I'm sorry I made such a fuss." He whispered as he kissed her temple.

  
"It was me." She said looking up at him.

"I'm going to make you a promise. I don't care if we have 20 feet of snow on the ground, every year, for the rest of our lives I'll cut that Christmas tree down for you on December 1st." Gary said then kissed her softly.

"Thank you." She smiled. 

"Come on, let's go home. We have a tree to decorate and I'm hungry." He joked as he started the car.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27 

Chapter 27 

It was Christmas Eve and Gary was finished with the paper for the day. He was looking forward to spending a first Christmas with his family. He had stopped to pick up another gift for Kaitlyn and was on his way home, just in time for dinner. His parents were coming to town to spend the holiday with them. 

When Gary walked in the door, he could hear his father in the living room playing with the girls. Gary took off his gloves, hung up his jacket, and then peeked into the living room. The girls were into playing dress up and it looked like his father was their latest victim. Jessica was tying a scarf around his neck and Casey was trying her best to put velcro rollers in his hair. 

"Oh you're looking good Dad." Gary said trying to suppress his laughter.

"Hi, Daddy." Casey said. "Grandpa Bernie doesn't sit still very well." Gary laughed.

"Go ahead and laugh Gar, you're next." Bernie said with a smile on his face.

"Believe me Dad, I've had my share of being the guinea pig." Gary said as he headed into the kitchen where he found his mother over the stove.

"Hi, Mom. Merry Christmas." He said as he kissed her cheek.

"Hi, honey." She said with a smile.

"Where's Kaitlyn?" Gary asked.

"Oh, I sent her upstairs to lie down. She looked like she was completely exhausted." Lois said.

"Really?" Gary said concerned. " Well, I'm going to go up and make sure she is all right." He said as he headed into the hallway.

"Okay, honey, dinner will be ready in about an hour. The Kelly's should be on their way and Chuck and Marissa are coming. Gary there was an envelope delivered for you. It's on the table in the hallway." She called after him.

"Thanks Mom." Gary said as he picked up the envelope and headed up the stairs.

Gary looked at the envelope on his way upstairs. It was from the adoption attorney. He started to open it as he headed into the bedroom and ran right into Kaitlyn as she was coming out the door.

"Gary!" She said as she put her hands on his chest.

"Sorry, honey." He said as he quickly kissed her. "I thought you were supposed to be taking nap. Are you feeling all right? Mom said you looked tired." 

"I'm fine. It has just been a lot of work getting ready for the holidays. What's that?" She asked pointing to the letter.

"I don't know I was just about to open it. It came by messenger." Gary said as he walked past her and into the bedroom. She turned around and walked in behind him, closing the door. 

"Who is it from?" She asked.

"It must be about the adoption. It's from Kirkpatrick." Gary said. 

"Well, we just filed the papers a little over a month ago. I thought he told us it would be months before everything would go through." Kaitlyn said.

Gary shrugged and handed the envelope to Kaitlyn. "Here you open it. Maybe it's bad news." He said.

"Gary." Kaitlyn said as she rolled he eyes. She finished opening the envelope and pulled out the letter. 

__

"Dear Gary." She began to read aloud. _"We are pleased to inform you that your Petition for Adoption for Jessica Ann Kelly and Cassandra Lee Kelly has been granted by the State of Illinois. I personally hand delivered the Petition to Judge Hirsch, who signed it this afternoon. Due to the holiday, the official Petition will be filed on Monday. I will send you copies of the documentation once it has been filed. Congratulations and Happy Holidays to you and your family. Sincerely, Andrew Kirkpatrick."_ Kaitlyn looked up at Gary and smiled. "It's official." She said as she handed him back the letter.

"I can't believe it." He said as he smiled and looked at the letter. Kaitlyn walked over and put her arms around his waist. 

"Congratulations, Daddy." She said as she reached up and kissed his cheek. He smiled. 

"Let's go and tell the girls." Gary said.

"Gary, the girls aren't going to understand. Besides, in their minds you are already their father. That piece of paper isn't going to mean anything to them. I think we're probably better off not even bringing it up, because it's only going to confuse them." Kaitlyn said.

"Yeah, your probably right. I'll tell my parents later, they'll be happy." Gary smiled.

"Now we have two reasons to celebrate." She said.

"What's the second reason?" Gary asked.

"Well, I was going to wait until later tonight to tell you this, but I think the timing is right. I meant it two ways when I said, congratulations Daddy." She said as she put his hand on her stomach and looked into his eyes and smiled.

Gary swallowed hard. "We…we…we're pregnant?" He stuttered. "I..I..I..mean you're pregnant?" Kaitlyn shook her head yes. "We're going to have a baby?" He said.

"That's usually what pregnant means." Kaitlyn said with a laugh.

"We're going to have a baby." Gary said again as he kissed her then picked her up and held her tight. He suddenly set her down. "I probably shouldn't do that." He said as he gently rubbed her stomach with his hands.

"Gary, I'm pregnant. I'm not going to break." Kaitlyn said with a smile. 

"When?" Gary asked.

"When what?" Kaitlyn asked.

"When did you find out?" Gary stammered.

"I've know for a little while now. I found out right after Thanksgiving." Kaitlyn said softly. "Don't be mad at me for not telling you right away, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay, because of the complications I had with Casey." 

"Is everything okay?" Gary asked concerned. 

"Everything is fine. Outside of a little morning sickness and being tired and those are all completely normal. Otherwise, everything is on schedule." Kaitlyn smiled.

"Well, when is the baby due?" Gary asked.

"August 3rd." Kaitlyn said with a smile.

"August 3rd." Gary repeated as he hugged her tight. "God, I love you." He whispered in her ear.

"I love you too." She said. He pulled back and looked at her.

"Oh, do you know how thrilled my parents are going to be?" Gary asked.

"I have an idea." Kaitlyn smiled.

"Let's wait and tell everybody together, at dinner." Gary said.

"Okay." She said as she kissed him. "I have to go and help your Mom." 

"Oh, no." Gary said as he picked her up and started to walk towards the bed. "You're going to get some rest." He laid her down on the bed and kissed her forehead.

"Gary, I'm fine." Kaitlyn said as she sat up. "I have to help your mother with dinner."

"No you don't. My mother has everything under control. You need to get at least a 20 minute nap." Gary said as he pointed his finger at her.

"But…" Before she could finish Gary cut her off.

"No buts." Gary said. "Lay down."

"I was just going to ask you if you wanted to keep me company?" Kaitlyn said with a smile.

"Sure I'll keep you company." He said as he crawled onto the bed beside her. "But, we're going to sleep." He wrapped his arms around her and smiled. "Thank you." He whispered in her ear before they fell asleep in each other's arms.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Everyone settled around the dining room table for dinner. Bernie and Lois were there along with Chuck, Jade, Marissa and Emmitt. Kaitlyn's parents, Collier and Lily, Kaitlyn's sister Megan and her husband Mike and their son Ben. There were a lot of smiles and laughter at dinner. 

Gary sat back and enjoyed watching how easily his and Kaitlyn's family seemed to mesh. Although they all had only known each other a short time, they were already like old friends. Collier, Bernie, and Mike were talking about taking a fishing trip to Canada in the spring. Gary overheard Lois and Lily talking to Jade about her pregnancy. 

After dinner, everyone gathered in the living room for coffee. 

"Can I tell them our news." Gary leaned over and whispered in Kaitlyn's ear.

"Okay." She said. Gary leaned in and kissed her. 

"Hey, why don't you two get a room." Chuck joked. Jade reached over and smacked him on the arm. 

"Ouch! That hurt." He said. "I can't wait for you to have this baby, because I want you back to normal. I thought women were supposed to be emotional when they were pregnant, not mean."

"Chuck, once a baby comes things are never back to normal." Bernie said.

"Speaking of babies." Gary stood and stopped talking when the room got completely silent and everybody stared at him. He definitely had everyone's attention. 

"Gary, honey, do you and Kaitlyn have something that you want to share with us?" Lois asked with a smile.

"Well, Mom, I know you have been waiting for this day for a long time." Before Gary could finish Lois jumped up from her chair and rushed over to hug him. 

"I knew it." She screamed. 

"Mom, you're squishing me." Although his mother was holding on for dear life, he still smiled. 

"Somebody want to fill the rest of us in on what you two are talking about?" Bernie asked.

"Bernie, they're having a baby!" Lois screamed as she let go of Gary and moved over to hug Kaitlyn. 

"Can I feel." Lois asked as she touched Kaitlyn's stomach.

"Yeah, we're having a baby." Gary said nonchalantly.

Everyone took their turn giving their congratulations. Kaitlyn was a little bit worried at how Jessica and Casey would react to the news, but they surprised her, they just took it in stride. 

"When is the baby due?" Jade asked.

"August 3rd." Gary said.

"Hey, Gar, how about that our kids will be a little over a month apart in age." Chuck said as he slapped Gary on the shoulder. "You know they are going to be boys, they will probably be best friends just like us." Gary and Chuck both smiled. 

"Oh, yeah smart guy, what if our baby is a girl?" Jade asked quickly. 

"That baby is a Fishman. Fishman's don't have girls we have boys. It's something in the genes." Chuck said as he looked at Gary.

"Well what if Gary and Kaitlyn's baby is a girl?" Marissa asked. Gary shot Marissa a look of disbelief. 

"I didn't consider that. Leave it to you to point out that remote possibility." Chuck said to Marissa.

"Gary have you told Kaitlyn what your baby name is?" Marissa asked with a sly smile.

"No, we haven't discussed that yet." Gary said nervously.

"You have baby names picked out?" Kaitlyn asked

"Oh, no it's just one name." Marissa said. "If I remember the conversation right, Gary felt it was a unisex name." She said with a laugh.

"We'll talk about it later." Gary said to Kaitlyn.

"A boy or a girl, what difference does it make. It's a baby!" Lois beamed.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Later that evening after everyone had gone home, and Bernie and Lois headed back to the loft, Gary and Kaitlyn were putting the girls to bed. Gary had read them their bedtime story and was in the process of tucking Casey in. 

"You have to get a good night's sleep because Santa comes tonight." Gary told her. "I have a feeling he is going to bring lots of presents." 

"Is he going to bring our baby?" Casey asked. Gary and Kaitlyn looked at each other and smiled. 

"Casey the baby is in Mommy's tummy." Jessica said. 

"It is?" Casey asked as she looked at Kaitlyn.

"Yep, it is, and it's going to be a while before we have the baby." Kaitlyn said as she kissed her forehead. 

"How long?" Jessica asked.

"Not till almost the end of summer. Now, you girls had better get to sleep. I'll see you in the morning." Kaitlyn said as she kissed Jessica and headed out of the room.

Gary kissed Casey then went over and kissed Jessica. As Gary reached for the light, he heard Jessica's voice.

"Daddy." She said.

"Hmm" Gary answered and turned his attention towards her.

"When Mommy has the baby, you're going to be the baby's real father, right?" She asked.

"Yeah." Gary said as he sat down on her bed. 

"Are you still going to love us?" She asked. 

"Of course, I'll still love you." Gary said. "Why would you think that I wouldn't?"

"Well, because you'll have the baby to love and you'll be the baby's real father." Jessica said.

"Jess, I love you and Casey very much. I'll always love you. You are both my daughters. No matter how many babies Mommy and I have, you and Casey will always be my first babies." Gary said as he kissed her forehead. "I love you." 

"I love you, too." Jessica smiled.

"Now go to sleep." Gary said as he tickled her. He got up from the bed, turned off the light, and closed the door. He saw Kaitlyn standing in the hallway.

"I guess you heard that." He said.

"Yeah." She said.

"You okay?" He asked. Kaitlyn shook her head yes. "Come on we got presents to put out." Gary said as they headed downstairs.

When they got downstairs, they headed out to the garage to gather up and bring in the presents. After they had brought all of the presents out of the garage and into the living room, Gary sat down on the floor in front of the tree his back resting against the couch. Kaitlyn quickly took a seat between his legs and leaned back against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. The only lights that were on in the room were from the Christmas Tree. They both sat and became mesmerized by the twinkling lights. 

"That is a beautiful tree." Gary commented.

"Yeah. Considering how we fought when we picked it out. I was so upset I didn't even really look at it until we brought it home." Kaitlyn joked.

"What do you mean you didn't look at it?" Gary asked.

"You said pick a tree and out of frustration I did." Kaitlyn smiled as she turned and kissed his lips.

"Well we'll never fight over that again. I promise." Gary whispered in her ear. Kaitlyn sighed.

"Tired?" Gary asked as he started to massage her shoulders.

"Yeah." Kaitlyn sighed.

"Why don't you go on up and get ready for bed?" Gary said as he kissed the top of her head. "I'll get the lights and make sure everything is locked up." 

"Okay." Kaitlyn turned and gave him a quick kiss then got up and headed upstairs.

After she had changed into her bedclothes and brushed her teeth, she headed back into the bedroom. She thought it was strange that Gary still wasn't upstairs, so she headed downstairs to find him. When she got to the bottom of the steps, she caught him coming out of the basement with an armful of packages. 

"Where did those come from?" Kaitlyn asked as she pointed to the pile that he was carrying.

Gary peeked over the top of the packages and said, "These are some extra things that I bought." Gary said as he headed into the living room and set them under the already full tree. "I thought you were going to bed?"

"You bought all those?" Kaitlyn asked. "Gary, this is to much. You are going to spoil them." 

"What I can't buy my kids some extra Christmas presents?" He asked as he walked over, turned out the light, and picked her up. 

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Taking my wife to bed." Gary said with a smile as he headed up the stairs. "You know, not all those packages are for the girls. In fact, I think the one in my back pocket might be for you." He said as wiggled his eyebrows at her and headed into the bedroom. He laid her down on the bed. As he crawled on the bed beside her, he pulled the package out of his back pocket and handed it to her. 

"Go ahead, open it." He said with a smile.

"But, it's not Christmas yet." Kaitlyn smiled.

"Close enough. Open it." Gary said. "I wanted to give this to you in private."

Kaitlyn pulled off the wrapping paper to find a thin jewelry box. She opened the lid and there was a beautiful diamond tennis bracelet. 

"Gary, it's beautiful." Kaitlyn said.

"Not as beautiful as you." He whispered in her ear. "Merry Christmas." 

"Thank you." Kaitlyn said a she reached up and kissed him. "Now I have to give you a present." As she sat up to get out of bed, Gary grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back down.

"You've already given me the best Christmas present I could have ever asked for." He said as he rubbed her stomach. Kaitlyn smiled and put her hands on top of his.

"So, tell me about those baby names." Kaitlyn said.

"Zeke." Gary said quickly as he continued to rub her stomach.

"Zeke?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Yeah, Zeke Hobson. My son is going to play hockey." Gary said with a smile.

"Really?" Kaitlyn said. "What's the girls name?"

"Zeke." Gary said as he looked up at her. "But, we don't have to worry about that, because, I know this baby is a boy." 

"You're almost as confident as Chuck." Kaitlyn joked. Gary shrugged. "How about we make a deal. If we have a son, you can call him Zeke if you want to, but on his birth certificate we're going to give him a normal name."

"What, call him Zeke as like a nickname?" Gary asked. Kaitlyn nodded yes. "I guess that would be all right." Gary said. Kaitlyn could hear the disappointment in his voice.

"You really like that name don't you." She said. Gary shrugged. "All right if it's a boy we can name him Zeke." She said as she rolled her eyes. "I guess I have seven months to get used to it." 

"Ha." Gary smiled as he reached up and kissed her.

"If this baby is a girl, it will not be named Zeke." Kaitlyn said.

"Okay. You can pick the girls name." Gary whispered as he slowly kissed her neck. Gary spent the rest of the night showing his wife exactly how much he loved her. 


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

When Gary and Kaitlyn awoke on Christmas morning, it was to the girls jumping on the bed. 

"Mommy, Daddy, get up Santa was here." Jessica screamed. "Grandpa Bernie and Grandma Lois are already downstairs and Uncle Chuck is here.

Gary opened one eye and rolled over to look at the clock. It was 6:45. "All right, we're coming." Gary said as the girls ran back downstairs.

"What is Chuck doing here so early?" Kaitlyn asked as she rolled over into his arms.

"He's delivering a present." Gary said.

"What present?" Kaitlyn asked.

"You'll see. Just promise me you're not going to be mad." He said as he kissed the top of her head.

"I don't know if I like the sound of that." She said as she watched Gary crawl out of bed and put on his robe. 

"It's something that we talked about." Gary said. He picked up Kaitlyn's robe and helped her put it on.

"Did you get a dog?" Kaitlyn asked. When he didn't answer her she said, "Gary?"

"Sort of." Gary swallowed hard then headed for the door. 

When they got downstairs the girls had already started to tear into their packages. Chuck stood in the doorway to the living room and laughed as Bernie encouraged the girls' antics. When Gary walked up beside Chuck, Chuck slapped his chest with the paper. 

"I believe that belongs to you." He said.

"You didn't look at it did you?" Gary asked.

"Why would I want to look at that thing?" Chuck asked innocently.

"Chuck!" Gary said.

"No. I didn't look at it." He said then turned and saw Kaitlyn. "Merry Christmas Mrs. Hobson. I thought maybe you would get lucky and Santa's elves would carry him away." He joked as he looked at Gary, who shot him an annoyed look.

"Chuck, why don't you head home to your wife." Gary said as he started to look through the paper.

"Gary!" Kaitlyn said in a reprimanding tone. "Merry Christmas, Chuck." She said as she kissed his cheek. "Where is Mom?" She asked.

"She's in the kitchen fixing coffee." Bernie said as he continued to watch the girls. 

"Chuck you want to stay for breakfast?" Kaitlyn asked.

"No. I better get home before Jade wakes up." He smiled and turned to Gary whispering in his ear. "Delivery is downstairs." 

"Thanks, Chuck." Gary said as he nodded.

"Don't blame me, it was all his idea." Chuck said to Kaitlyn. "Merry Christmas everybody!" He yelled as he headed out the door. 

When Gary looked up from the paper, he saw Kaitlyn staring at him with her arms crossed. He smiled.

"Looks like Santa gave me a Christmas present. I got the day off." Gary said as he closed the paper. Kaitlyn just looked at him and walked into the living room.

After the girls were finished opening their gifts. Gary got up and said, "You two have one more gift." He started to head out of the room. 

"Need some help son?" Bernie asked.

"No, I got it." Gary said.

While the cat lay curled up in Kaitlyn's lap, Lois looked at her and shrugged her shoulders. He returned a few minutes later carrying a basket, which he was trying to keep two golden retriever puppies from jumping out of. 

"Puppies!" Jessica and Casey screamed as they ran towards Gary. Gary smiled and set the basket on the floor. Each of the girls reached in and picked up a puppy. 

"Mommy look!" Casey screamed. "Two puppies." 

Gary walked over and sat down next to Kaitlyn. The cat hissed at him. Gary gave him an annoyed look.

"You couldn't just get one, you had to go for two." Kaitlyn whispered to him.

"Well, I couldn't decide between the male and the female, and they were the only two left. I didn't want to separate them, so I got them both." He said cautiously. "How long am I going to be in the doghouse for this?" Gary asked.

"Oh, you're in the doghouse all right. Literally." Kaitlyn said. Gary gave her a remorseful look. "I hate it that I can't be mad at you for more than five minutes." She said. Then smiled and reached over and kissed him. 

"So, what are we going to name these puppies?" Bernie asked. "Casey, you're holding the boy, what do you want to name him?" 

"Buster." Casey said as she looked at him.

"Good name." Bernie said.

"What about you Jess?" He asked.

"How, about Daisy." She said. 

"Well, I think we got names." Bernie said. "Buster and Daisy." 

"Thanks Daddy." Jessica said as she came over and hugged Gary. 

"Yeah, Daddy, thanks." Casey said as she followed her sisters' example and hugged him. 

"Merry Christmas, girls." Gary said. He turned to Kaitlyn, and leaned in and kissed her. "Merry Christmas." 

"Merry Christmas." She smiled.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Before they knew it, it was the middle of March. It was Kaitlyn's birthday and she and Gary had made a date for a romantic dinner. Her parents were watching the girls' overnight.

It seemed, since she told him about the baby, he had been swamped with taking care of the paper. She would watch him, as he would drag himself out of bed in the early morning only to return late at night, to be completely exhausted. 

What little time they did get to spend together was compromised by Kaitlyn's bouts with morning sickness, which seemed to last the entire day. Not to help was the fact that she noticed a change in her waistline over the past few weeks. She was so excited about being pregnant, but not being able to fit into her normal clothes was starting to depress her slightly. 

She slipped on the royal blue dress that she had purchased yesterday when she went shopping with Jade. Jade insisted that she buy it, even if she could only get a few wears out of it. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she noticed how well she filled the dress. With both of her other pregnancies she hardly ever showed. She remembered people not believing her when she told them she was pregnant. She reached down and rubbed her stomach when she felt the baby kick.

"Well, you're definitely in there." She said with a smile. Unaware that Gary had finished his shower and had been watching her from the bathroom doorway. 

"I hope so." His words startled her. She turned to see Gary standing in the doorway wearing only his boxers.

"Gary, don't sneak up on me like that." She smiled. He walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist.

"I didn't sneak. I was watching for a while. Noticing how beautiful you are." He said as he kissed her neck. 

"I think by next week you're not going to be able to put your arms around me." She said with a frown as she turned around in his arms. 

"I'm sure I'll manage." He said. "You look beautiful." 

"Thanks." She smiled. "Jade insisted that I buy this dress."

"Well I have the perfect thing to go with it." He said as he headed to the dresser and opened his sock drawer. He walked over carrying a gift-wrapped package and handed it to her. "Happy Birthday." He said as he softly kissed her lips.

Kaitlyn smiled as she took off the paper and opened the box. Inside was an antique sapphire and diamond necklace that almost exactly matched Gary's Grandmother's ring. 

"Where did you find this?" She asked surprised.

"I eyed it in an estate jewelry store downtown. I know how much you liked the ring. I…I…I..well I thought we could start our own tradition." Gary stuttered.

"It's beautiful. Thank you." She said as she kissed him. "Can you help me put it on?" 

Gary reached into the box and pulled out the necklace. Kaitlyn turned around and he slipped it around her neck and did the clasp. He kissed the back of her neck when he let go. She turned in his arms and he pulled her close for a kiss. 

It felt so good to be in each other's arms that they got completely lost in that kiss. Gary wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could, pulling her close to his body. 

They were lost in sheer ecstasy until Gary felt something against his stomach. He suddenly pulled away and looked at Kaitlyn. 

"What?" Kaitlyn asked.

"I felt that." He said as he put his hands on her stomach. She smiled. "There it is again." He said, the excitement written on his face. 

"I think this kid is definitely going to be a soccer player, it likes to kick." Kaitlyn smiled.

"Do you feel that a lot?" Gary asked with a smile.

"The last few days I have." She said.

"That's amazing." He said as his eyes started to tear. "You're amazing." He said as he leaned in and kissed her. 

When their lips parted, he moved to kiss her neck. Gary then trailed soft kisses from her neck up to her cheek, to her eyes only to settle on her lips. When their lips met, Gary's kiss was so gentle. He reached is hand up and placed it on her neck. Then he began to lightly caress her cheek with his thumb. Before they knew it, they were swept away in such gentle passion, their dinner plans removed to far in the back of their minds.

Later that night, Kaitlyn caught Gary clad in his boxers and a t-shirt, going through the refrigerator in search of something to eat. When she peeked over the refrigerator door at him, he looked up at her.

"I thought you were sleeping." He said with a smile. "Hungry?"

"A little." She said.

"Well, I was going to make a sandwich. You want one?" He said as he stood up and kissed her.

"Okay. I'll get the bread." She said as she headed for the counter.

They sat down at the table and made their sandwiches. Gary told her how he had taken to being a mediator between Chuck and Marissa at the bar. 

"It seems things have returned to the way they used to be. They fight over the stupidest stuff. Chuck is always trying to get her goat in one way or another." Gary said with a smile. 

"You're not letting him do any of the accounting work, are you?" Kaitlyn said.

"I learned that lesson the last time, he's not allowed to do anything financial. Marissa is taking care of all of that. I can't trust him to do it. He got us involved in to much shady stuff the last time." Gary said as he took a bite of his sandwich.

"Don't forget tomorrow at 10:00 is the ultrasound." Kaitlyn said. 

"I'll be there." Gary said confidently. 

"Okay." Kaitlyn said with hesitation. "Do we want to know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"They can tell that?" Gary asked.

"Yeah." Kaitlyn said with a laugh. "I keep forgetting that you're not experienced at this." 

"Do you want to know?" Gary asked.

"I don't know. It has its advantages." Kaitlyn shrugged. 

"Did you find out before?" Gary asked.

"No. I never really wanted to know before." Kaitlyn said. "I kind of liked being surprised."

"All right we'll be surprised." Gary said as he kissed her.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

The next morning Kaitlyn sat in the waiting room of the doctors office, leafing through a magazine. She looked up and saw Gary standing in front of her. 

"You're actually on time." She said surprised.

"I told you I'd be here." He said as he leaned down and kissed her.

"Mrs. Hobson." The nurse called. Kaitlyn got up and headed towards her. "We're ready. Mr. Hobson, I'll come back and get you in a few minutes."

"Okay." Gary said as he sat down in a chair.

Kaitlyn followed her into the ultrasound room. The nurse handed her a gown.

"You can take your blouse off, put this on and get up on the table. The technician will be in shortly. I'll bring your husband back with me." 

"Okay." Kaitlyn said.

She was waiting patiently, when the door opened and the technician came in. 

"Hi. I'm Nancy. I'm going to be doing your ultrasound." She said.

"Is this your first baby?" She asked.

"No this will be my third." Kaitlyn smiled. 

"So you know the drill, huh?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, but go easy on my husband. This is his first." Kaitlyn joked.

As if on cue the nurse opened the door and brought Gary into the room. 

"You must be Dad. You can have a seat over there on the other side of the table." Nancy said. Gary walked over and sat down in the chair.

"Okay Mrs. Hobson, if you can pull the gown up a little bit, we'll get started." She said.

She started the ultrasound. Kaitlyn reached over and took Gary's hand. "Look up there." Kaitlyn said as she pointed to the television. Gary looked up.

"Is that an arm?" Gary asked.

"Yeah." Nancy said. "I'm going to go through the checklist here first and take some measurements. Then I'll point some things out to you." 

"Okay." Kaitlyn said.

A few minutes passed before the technician spoke. 

"I'm going to have the doctor come in to verify something for me." She said.

"Is something wrong?" Kaitlyn asked quickly.

"No. There is nothing wrong. I just want her to look at something." She said as she picked up the telephone and said, "Could you send Dr. Jeffries in please."

"Hi, Kaitlyn." Dr. Jeffries said when she came into the room. "How are you doing?" 

"Okay." Kaitlyn said.

"Take a look at this." Nancy said as she moved the ultrasound conductor across Kaitlyn's stomach. "There is a heartbeat."

"There is another heartbeat." Dr. Jeffries said.

"She already said that." Gary said.

"Well, we said it twice because, there are two heartbeats." Dr. Jeffries said with a smile. "Kaitlyn, you're having twins." 

"What?" Kaitlyn asked shocked. She turned and looked at Gary. "We're having twins." 

"Really? You're sure?" Gary asked.

"Yep, there is definitely two babies in there." Dr. Jeffries said. "Congratulations."

"No wonder I'm so huge." Kaitlyn said.

Gary leaned down and kissed Kaitlyn. "Two babies." He said.

"Do you want to know what they are?" Nancy asked.

"No." Kaitlyn said right away. "We want to wait." Kaitlyn looked at Gary. "So, we could be having two boys, two girls or one of each." Kaitlyn said with a smile.

"Two babies." Gary whispered as he looked at the television monitor. He turned to Kaitlyn. "I told you I knew what I was doing." He said with a sly smile. Gary spent the next few months showing everyone he met the ultrasound pictures he carried in his wallet. 


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

It was mid-May and Jessica had enlisted Gary to be one of her t-ball coaches. One evening, Casey sat at the kitchen table coloring, with Daisy lying at her feet. Kaitlyn was cleaning up the dinner dishes, looking out the window. She laughed when she saw Gary and Jessica start to chase Buster after he stole the ball when Jessica dropped it. The doorbell rang. Daisy started to bark and followed Casey into the hallway to answer the door. Casey opened the door to find a woman standing on the porch. 

"Hello." The woman said as she looked at the piece of paper in her hand and then at the number on the front of the house to verify that she had the right address.

"Hi." Casey said as Kaitlyn walked slowly into the foyer and up behind her daughter. 

When Kaitlyn got a closer look at the woman, she knew exactly who she was. 

"Can I help you?" Kaitlyn asked. 

"I don't know. I'm looking for Gary Hobson." The woman said.

"Well, you've got the right place. Casey, honey, go and get Daddy." Kaitlyn said as she opened the screen door and held onto the dog. 

Casey ran down the hall and into the kitchen.

"Please come in." Kaitlyn said.

A few seconds later Kaitlyn heard Gary come through the back door. When he entered the foyer. He was giving Casey a piggyback ride. 

"Gary." The woman said.

Gary looked up to find his ex-wife standing in front of him. "Marcia." He said as he swallowed hard and walked over to Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn smiled.

"Honey, ah, this is Marcia." Gary stuttered. "Marcia this is my wife, Kaitlyn." 

Kaitlyn and Marcia looked at each other and smiled awkwardly. "It's nice to meet you." Kaitlyn finally said. "Casey, come on honey, Mommy has to finish the dishes and you have to finish coloring that picture." She took Casey's hand and headed into the kitchen. "Come on Daisy." She called the dog who followed. Gary watched his wife leave the room and then turned to Marcia.

"What can I do for you?" Gary asked. Marcia looked at Gary.

"The bartender at McGinty's hesitantly gave me your address after I told him who I was. I needed to talk to you about something. It won't take long." She said.

"Well, ah, okay. Why don't we go into the living room." Gary said as he guided her in the right direction. Gary caught a glimpse of Kaitlyn watching him as he turned and headed into the living room. Marcia took a seat on the couch and Gary sat down in the chair. 

"Your home is lovely." She said pleasantly.

"Thank you." Gary said skeptically. "Not to be inhospitable, but what exactly did you need to talk to me about?" Gary asked.

"Well, um, Gary my Grandmother passed away three weeks ago." She hesitated.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I always liked her." Gary said sympathetically.

"Thank you. She also obviously liked you." Marcia said. "You see, I never told her that we got divorced. I didn't really see her that much and I never really felt the need to."

"You're kidding, right?" Gary asked as he looked at her surprised. "It wouldn't have had anything to do with the fact that she liked me and she owned that company, would it?" 

"Well…" Marcia hesitated. Gary could tell by her reaction that he hit the nail right on the head.

"Why don't you just get to the point and tell me what you're here for." Gary said slightly annoyed.

Before Marcia could answer, Casey came into the room followed by Jessica and the dogs.

"Daddy. Mommy says it's bedtime. Are you going to read me my story?" She said as she crawled onto his lap.

Kaitlyn walked in the room and said, "I'm sorry. Girls I told you to leave Daddy alone. Come on let's go get ready for bed." She said as she guided Jessica to the hallway. "Come on Casey." Jessica whistled and Buster followed. 

"I'll be finished here by the time you get done with your bath. Then I'll read you your story, okay." Gary said as he kissed her nose.

"Okay, but tonight's story better be a long one." Casey said as she headed into the hallway. "Come on Daisy." The dog followed her upstairs.

Marcia just sat and stared at Gary. 

"They are both very beautiful." She finally said with a smile.

"Thank you." Gary said.

"How old are they?" She asked.

"I think I know you well enough to know you really don't care how old they are. You just want to know if they're mine." Gary said coldly. Marcia looked at him surprised. "I think we need to get back to the real reason you're here." Gary said.

"Fine." She said angrily. "My Grandmother left the bulk of her estate to us." 

"What do you mean to us? There is no us." Gary said.

"Well, like I said she didn't know that we were divorced. She drafted her Will under the assumption that we were still married. She left the bulk of her estate to you and me." Marcia said.

"I still don't know what you want from me." Gary said.

"Gary, I'm no estate attorney. I have consulted one, however, and it seems that legally, because you are named in the Will, I have to give you what she wanted you to have, unless I contest the will. Which will be a long drawn out process." She said. "In order for me to get my money quickly, you have to get yours." 

"I don't want your Grandmother's money." Gary said.

"I don't really care what you do with the money. You can give it all to charity for all I care. Could you just sign the papers, please." Marcia said as she pulled the papers from her brief case. Gary hesitantly took the pen and signed the papers.

Marcia took the papers back from him and returned them to her briefcase. "A check will be delivered to you by the end of the week." She said as she stood and headed for the door. As she walked onto the porch, she turned around and looked at him. 

"A little advice. You seem to have gotten yourself into a situation where you have two small children and a wife who is obviously adding to your brood. I doubt highly that the income you take in with your little bar is sufficient to take care of them. I suggest you keep the money. It looks like your going to need it. Oh and if you ever decide you want to get out of this situation, give me a call." She said smugly. With each word that came out of her mouth, Gary grew more furious.

"I really don't think I'll be needing your advice. I think I made a lifetime worth of mistakes when I married you. Oh, and to answer your question of earlier, Jessica is 7 and Casey is 4 and they are both mine." Gary said as he slammed the door.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Kaitlyn was getting the girls dressed for bed when Gary came upstairs. No matter how hard he tried to mask it, Kaitlyn knew her husband well enough to know that he was upset. She decided she would wait for him to tell her what his ex-wife had wanted. He proceeded to do exactly as he had promised and read the girls their bedtime story. 

Kaitlyn was putting away some laundry when he came into their bedroom and sat down in the chair. He waited for Kaitlyn to ask him why Marcia wanted to see him. Surprised when she didn't he said, "Well?" 

"Well what?" Kaitlyn said as she turned and headed for the closet. 

"Aren't you going to ask me what she wanted?" Gary asked. Kaitlyn shrugged.

"I figured you would tell me if you wanted." Kaitlyn said as she closed the closet door. 

"Her grandmother died. She named us in her will." Gary said.

"Named who?" Kaitlyn said.

"Me and Marcia." Gary said.

"Why you?" Kaitlyn asked confused.

"Well, it seems that Marcia never told her that we had gotten divorced. Which, believe it or not, doesn't surprise me." Gary said.

"Why would she not tell her?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Because her grandmother liked me, and…" Gary hesitated. "She had a lot of money." 

"Oh." Kaitlyn said as she turned away from Gary. "She's a…she's a lot prettier in person." Kaitlyn whispered. 

"Yeah." Gary answered without thinking, then hesitated when he realized the implication of what he had said. "I mean…" Kaitlyn cut him off.

"Don't. I know what you meant." She sighed. "I knew that there was a possibility that someday I would eventually meet her. Why did it have to be now?" 

"Howzat?" Gary asked confused.

"Why couldn't it have been six months ago. Look at me, I'm the size of a house." Kaitlyn said. "As far as I am concerned, it is a miracle that I even fit in this house." Kaitlyn said frustrated as she slammed the drawer shut.

"Come here." Gary whispered as he reached for her hand. Kaitlyn turned and took the few short steps over to him. He put his hands on her stomach. "I love you." He said as he kissed her bulging stomach then pulled her down onto his lap.

"Well, in this condition, I can't compete with her." Kaitlyn sighed. Gary rubbed her stomach.

"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and this is not a contest. Besides, I find the fact that you are carrying not only one, but two of my children extremely sexy." Gary whispered as he reached up and kissed her cheek.

"So what are you going to do?" Kaitlyn asked.

"About what?" Gary said as he kissed her neck.

"About the money." Kaitlyn said surprised.

"Oh. I don't know." Gary said. "I don't really want her money. Maybe I'll give it to a charity."

"Well, it's your money to do with what you want. I think that's a good idea though." Kaitlyn said. "So we'll never have to see her again?"

"Who?" Gary smiled and kissed his wife passionately.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Chapter 35

About a week later Gary received a certified letter. He and Kaitlyn were sitting on the couch when he opened it. Inside he found two smaller envelopes. One Gary could tell contained a check, because it had a clear address window. The other was a personal stationary envelope with his first name hand written on the front. He opened that one first.

"It's a letter." Gary said. He read it aloud.

__

Dearest Gary,

I had wished that we would get to see each other before my death. However, if you are receiving this letter, I know that is not the case. 

My granddaughter seems to have thought that I was too feeble to know what was going on around me. I have to hold myself accountable for her obvious flaws, as I am sorry to say it was I who was her worst influence. However, as one grows older you hopefully, see the error in your ways. I have come to peace with my past mistakes and attempted redemption. I have tried to live my last days the way I wished I would have lived me entire life. 

I want you to know that I have always thought very highly of you. You are such an unrequited gem. Unfortunately, I have to say you were too good for my granddaughter. 

Unbeknownst to her, I've known for some time that she ended your marriage. Please do not get angry when I tell you that I have been kept abreast of the recent changes in your life. You are a wonderful father, as I knew you would be and I am glad that you have found someone to return your love. 

Therefore, I bequeath this gift to you to do with as you wish. The only request that I have is that you and your new family live the life that you so richly deserve. 

Fondly, 

Caroline Roberts

"Wow." Kaitlyn said as Gary handed her the letter. "She knew you well."

"She was something." Gary said. 

"I can't believe that she had us watched." Kaitlyn said. Gary shrugged.

"I should have know Marcia wouldn't be able to pull one over on her." Gary smiled. 

"Well, this is something she obviously wanted you to have." Kaitlyn said as she rubbed his shoulder. 

Kaitlyn looked at the letter as he opened the next envelope. Gary couldn't believe what he saw. It was a check made out to him for $925,000 dollars. He was speechless.

Kaitlyn got concerned when she saw the look on his face.

"What?" She asked. He swallowed hard and handed her the check. "Oh my, look at that." She said when she looked at it. "That's almost a million dollars." She said shocked.

"Yep." Gary mumbled.

"That's a lot of charity right there." Kaitlyn said.

"I've been thinking about that." Gary said.

"About what to do with the money?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Yeah." Gary said. "I know we have some money saved, but I think it's important with the babies coming that we should have more than that." He looked at her. "Well, with the paper it's impossible for me to hold down a job and the income from the bar was enough for me. Truthfully, I'm nervous about having to support everybody." 

"Gary, honey, you don't have to do this all alone. I have my job." Kaitlyn said.

"Well, I would like it if you didn't have to worry about working, unless that is what you wanted." Gary said.

"I never thought about not working. I know with the babies it's not going to be as easy, but I have my Mom to help." Kaitlyn said.

"It's just with the paper. I want to make sure that you and the kids are taken care of in case something might happen to me." Gary whispered.

"Don't talk like that." Kaitlyn said.

"It's something that we have to talk about. I decided that no matter what the amount was I was going to give half of it to charity and I was going to keep the other half." Gary said. "Look, knowing now how much is there I figure we could pay the house off and put the rest into the bank for the kids education. That way if you don't want to work, you don't have too." Gary said. 

"Well, I think half of this check is a little excessive." Kaitlyn said. "Gary, we don't need this kind of money."

"Do you know how expensive college is going to be for these four kids?" Gary asked. Kaitlyn looked at him and shrugged. "We would never have to worry again." Gary smiled.

"Is that what's going to make you happy?" Kaitlyn asked.

"No, I'm already happy. This will just make me feel more at ease." Gary said.

"Okay." Kaitlyn said.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Chapter 36

It was Memorial Day weekend and Bernie had arranged to take Gary, Chuck, Collier, and Mike to the Indianapolis 500. They left on Saturday night and had planned to spend the entire day, Sunday, at the race. Emmitt and Marissa offered to take care of the paper while Gary enjoyed a day off. 

Gary was hesitant to leave Kaitlyn. Due to her condition, and the fact that she was carrying twins, she had been having a hard time getting around lately. However, Kaitlyn was insistent the he go and enjoy himself. She had arranged for Lois and Lily to help her with the girls. Jade was also planning on stopping by and keeping Kaitlyn company. They were going to look through some baby name books. 

When Kaitlyn awoke on Sunday and looked at the clock it was 11:30. She had overheard Gary tell his mother last night that he was worried she wasn't getting enough sleep. Unfortunately, without the warmth and comfort of her husband's body lying next to her, Kaitlyn had a fitful night's rest. She rolled over and sat up in bed and let her feet touch the floor. As she reached for her robe, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." Kaitlyn said as the door slowly opened.

"Oh you're awake. I just wanted to check on you." Lois said as she came into the room. "Your Mom and Megan took the girls shopping. Did you sleep all right?" 

"No, not really. I don't know, I guess I've gotten used to sleeping next to Gary. It was a little uncomfortable without him." Kaitlyn smiled. 

"The first time Bernie went away after we were married, I remember it took some getting used to. Trust me, it gets easier. Now I actually can't wait to have the whole bed to myself." Lois joked. "Can I get you anything?"

"Mom, you're a visitor in this house. Regardless of what Gary said, you don't have to wait on me." Kaitlyn said as she stood and started to walk towards the bathroom. "I'm going to get a shower, then I'll be down."

"Okay, honey. I am going to make you something to eat." Lois said with a smile. "Any requests?" 

"Well, now that you mention it I kind of have a craving for blueberry pancakes." Kaitlyn smiled.

"Oh, you are definitely carrying Hobson babies." Lois beamed knowing that blueberry pancakes were Gary's favorite. She turned and headed for the hallway.

As Kaitlyn walked into the bathroom, she felt what seemed like a contraction. "Ouch." She said loudly. Lois heard her and went running back into the bedroom. She found Kaitlyn holding her stomach and breathing heavily.

"Honey, are you all right?" Lois asked.

"I think I'm having a contraction." Kaitlyn said.

"Oh dear. Okay let's get you over to the bed so you can lie down." Lois said as she helped Kaitlyn over to the bed. "Is this the first time you've felt this?" Lois asked.

"Yes." Kaitlyn said as she lay down. "I think it's over." 

"Should we call the doctor? You don't think you're in labor, do you?" Lois asked.

"No I couldn't be, I'm not due for another eight weeks. It's probably just braxton hicks contractions. I had them with Casey. If I just lay down here for a little they'll go away." Kaitlyn smiled as she rubbed her stomach.

"Okay." Lois said. "Do you want me to stay with you?" She asked.

"No I'll be okay." Kaitlyn said as the telephone rang. Lois reached over to answer it.

"Hello. Hobson residence." She said.

"Mom it's me." She heard Gary's voice on the other end.

"Gary, honey. How is everybody." Lois said hesitantly.

"We're fine. I wanted to call and say good morning to my wife. Can I talk to her?" Gary asked.

"Just a minute, honey." Lois said as she covered the telephone receiver. "He wants to talk to you." She said.

"Okay." Kaitlyn said and Lois handed her the telephone. "Gary?" She said.

"Hi honey. How are you feeling?" Gary asked.

"I'm okay. Your Mom let me sleep in today, so I got a lot of rest." She looked at Lois and shrugged. "Are you having fun?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's been great. I miss you like crazy." Gary said. 

"I miss you too." Kaitlyn said then there was a prolonged silence.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Gary asked skeptically.

"Honey, I'm fine." Kaitlyn said.

"You're sure?" Gary asked again.

"Yes." Kaitlyn said.

"Okay. Chuck is waiving me down telling me it's time to go. I'll call you later. I love you." Gary said.

"I love you too." Kaitlyn said as she heard the telephone disconnect. She handed it back to Lois who hung it up. "I didn't want to worry him." She said to Lois.

"It's okay, I understand. I'm going to go downstairs and start those pancakes. You call if you need me." Lois said as she headed downstairs.

Over the next half-hour, as Kaitlyn lie in bed, the contractions continued. She telephoned Dr. Jeffries. She told her it was probably braxton hicks contractions, but to be on the safe side, she wanted Kaitlyn to meet her at the hospital. Kaitlyn got herself out of bed, got dressed and headed downstairs.

"Mom." She said when she reached the bottom of the steps. Lois heard her and came into the foyer.

"What is it honey." Lois said.

"I talked with Dr. Jeffries. She thinks these contractions might be braxton hicks, but she wants me to go to the hospital." Kaitlyn said.

"Should we try and get a hold of Gary. Chuck left his cell phone number." Lois said.

"No. No. Let's just wait and see what the doctor says first." Kaitlyn said. "I don't want him to rush home for nothing."

"Okay. Let me leave your Mom and Jade a note and I'll drive you." Lois said.

Lois paced nervously in the hallway at the hospital. She debated on whether or not to call Gary and let him know what was happening. She knew that Gary would never forgive himself if something happened to Kaitlyn while he was away. Her thoughts were interrupted when the nurse informed her that she could go in to see Kaitlyn.

"What did she say?" Lois asked as she took Kaitlyn's hand.

"She said that I am starting to dilate. They are going to admit me and give me magnesium sulfate to try and stop the contractions." Kaitlyn said. 

"You're still having contractions?" Lois asked.

"Yeah." Kaitlyn said. "They did an ultrasound to see if the baby's lungs were developed enough for delivery. The doctor doesn't think that they are. She said that we would be taking a big chance if they let me deliver. I just hope this drug works. I'm scared it won't." 

"Honey, you and the babies are going to be fine. I think it's time we call Gary and let him know what is going on." Lois said.

"Yeah, unfortunately, I think you're probably right." Kaitlyn said. 


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Chapter 37

The guys had just found their seats and the race was getting ready to start when Chuck's telephone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and gave Gary a look.

"That's probably Jade. She has impeccable timing." Chuck said as he put the telephone to his ear. "Hello, honey." He said.

"Chuck, I'm not your honey. I need to speak with Bernie." Lois said.

"Hey, Mrs. H. I thought you were Jade." Chuck said. "He's right here. Hold on a second." Chuck said as he handed the telephone to Bernie. "For you, it's your old lady. She must be checking up on you." Bernie gave Chuck a look as he put the telephone up to his ear. Gary laughed.

"Hey. Lo." Bernie said.

"Bernie. Now I need you to stay calm and listen to me carefully." Lois said quickly.

"What's wrong?" Bernie asked.

Lois took a deep breath and continued. "Bernie, Kaitlyn started having contractions this morning."

"Contractions?" Bernie said loudly enough that Gary heard. "Oh, boy." He said when he saw the look on his son's face.

"Who is having contractions?" Gary asked.

"Calm down son, I'm trying to get the information." Bernie said.

"Give me the telephone Dad." Gary demanded. Bernie gave him the telephone.

"Mom." Gary said.

"Honey, calm down, Kaitlyn is having some contractions. They are going to admit her into the hospital and put her on some kind of medication to try and stop them." Lois said. "I think you need to head home." 

"Oh, God. I'm going to leave right now." Gary said. 

"Honey, be careful. Don't hurry. She and the babies are going to be fine." Lois said optimistically.

"Mom, where is she? Let me talk to her." Gary said.

"Honey, she can't talk right now, but I'll tell her that you are on your way." Lois said trying to sound cheerful.

"Tell her I'll be there in about three hours." Gary said. "I'm going to check in with you from the road. Mom?"

"Yes, Gary." Lois said.

"Make sure you tell her that I love her." Gary said 

"I will honey." Lois said as she hung up the telephone.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Chapter 38

The ride back to Chicago was torturous for Gary. He called every half-hour to check on Kaitlyn's condition. Each time he called, he was unable to speak with her. His mother relayed his messages. 

During the ride, Mike thoroughly explained to Gary what types of medications they were giving Kaitlyn and the probable course of treatment. Thanks to Mike Gary may have understood things better, but understanding things failed to ease his mind.

It took them a little over three hours to make it to the hospital. When Gary got there, he, Bernie, and Collier headed straight to Kaitlyn's room. As they turned the corner, Gary saw his mother and Lily sitting in the waiting area. 

"Mom." Gary said as he approached them. "How is she?" 

"Gary." Lois hugged her son. "Well, she's doing okay. The contractions have eased up a bit. They are checking her now to see if she has dilated anymore." 

Gary ran his hands through his hair.

"Gary the medicine is making her awfully sick. The nurse said it's a side effect. But, that the medication is necessary to stop the labor." Lois said. "I just want to warn you before you go in there, she doesn't look very good."

"Oh god." Gary said as sat down in the chair. "How did this happen?" 

"Gary, Kaitlyn is strong and she is determined to keep these babies safe." Lily said as she sat down beside him and put her arm on his shoulder. "Early labor with twins is very common. I know my daughter, she and those babies are going to be fine."

The nurse came into the waiting room. "Mrs. Kelly, Mrs. Hobson, you can go back in now." She said.

"Come on honey, I'll show you where her room is." Lois said.

When Gary walked into Kaitlyn's room, she was lying in bed with her eyes closed. A nurse was changing her IV medication. 

"Hello." The nurse said. "Are you Dad?"

"Yeah." Gary said as he swallowed hard. Upon hearing Gary's voice Kaitlyn opened her eyes. 

"Gary." She whispered.

"See sweetie, I told you he would make it." The nurse said to Kaitlyn. "I'll leave you two alone. You need me press the call button." She headed out the door.

Gary walked over and sat down on the side of Kaitlyn's bed. "How you doing?" He said.

"I'd be better if these babies of yours weren't so impatient." Kaitlyn said trying to smile. 

"I'm sorry I wasn't here." Gary said as he stroked her hair.

"You being here wasn't going to change anything. You're here now that's all that matters." Kaitlyn said. Gary nodded.

"Mom said the medicine is making you pretty sick." Gary said.

"Yeah, but if it works it's worth it." Kaitlyn whispered. Gary leaned down and kissed her forehead. He noticed how hot she felt.

"You're burning up." Gary said scared.

"Another lovely side effect to the medication." Kaitlyn said. "The nurse just gave me something for that." 

"Has Dr. Jeffries given you any idea what is going to happen?" Gary asked.

"Well, the contractions have slowed down and my cervix hasn't dilated anymore. So, right now it's just a waiting game." Kaitlyn said as she looked up at Gary. "Gary, they did a test, the babies lungs aren't developed enough yet. This has to work." Kaitlyn started to cry. Gary lay down on the bed beside her and held her.

"Shh, don't cry. This will work." He said as a tear ran down his cheek.


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Kaitlyn spent the next fourteen days in the hospital. She passed the time looking through catalogs and ordering baby supplies. During the last few days of her stay, Gary, Bernie, and Collier were busy at home getting the nursery ready. It was going to be a coming home present that Gary wanted to surprise her with. Her doctors had released her on the condition that she have complete bed rest. They wanted to try to hold off the delivery for at least two more weeks.

The day Kaitlyn came home, Gary had arranged with his mother-in-law to keep the girls overnight so that Kaitlyn could get her rest. When they pulled into the driveway, Kaitlyn opened her door and started to get out of the car. Gary ran around to her and picked her up.

"Gary! What are you doing?" Kaitlyn screamed.

"You're on bed rest. That means no stairs." He said as he carried her up the front steps. 

He stopped when he realized he didn't know how he was going to get the door unlocked and open. He gave her a sympathetic look. 

"Can you reach the keys in my back pocket?" He asked. 

Kaitlyn reached behind his shoulder, pulled out his keys, and looked at him. Gary frowned. 

"Can you open the door? Please." Kaitlyn put the keys in the lock and opened the door. 

When they got inside, Gary kicked the door closed and headed up the stairs. "I got something I want to show you." He said as he carried her into the babies' room and set her in the rocking chair. 

Kaitlyn couldn't believe her eyes. Everything was done in white. There were two cribs and in each laid a hand made baby quilt, compliments of Grandma Hobson. There was a changing table, large dresser, and tons of stuffed animals. 

"Our mother's went shopping and bought a lot of sleepers and things. I figured we could add some color once we know what the babies are." Gary said hesitantly. Kaitlyn started to cry.

"Gary." She whispered. "This is the nicest thing you have ever done for me." She said as she reached for his hand. He kneeled down beside the chair and wiped away her tears. "Thank you. I love it." She said. 

They sat there in silence until Kaitlyn spoke. "Gary, promise me that if something happens to me…" Gary cut her off before she could finish.

"What do you mean? Nothing is going to happen to you." Gary said as he kissed her.

"Well, I don't know that. I mean, having a baby, sometimes there are complications. Things that you can't anticipate. I want you to promise me that if something happens to me, you'll go on, take care of the kids and give them a normal life." She said as she looked in his eyes.

"I don't want to talk about this." Gary said as he wiped her tears away. "There is no reason to talk about this. You and me, we're going to grow old together. We're going to sit on that porch together and watch our grandchildren play. I won't let myself think of a life without you." He said.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Gary drove Kaitlyn crazy over the next couple of weeks. She knew how he felt about his mother and her smothering abilities. Well, Kaitlyn learned that Gary was definitely his mother's son. He would take her to her weekly doctor's visits and ask a million questions. He relied on his friends and parents to take care of the paper, so that he could be by her side every second of the day.

Early on the morning of July 4th, he caught her getting out of bed.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he sat up. 

"I'm going to the bathroom." Kaitlyn sighed. Gary pointed at her and tried to speak, but Kaitlyn cut him off. "I can do it myself." She said as she headed to the bathroom.

Later that morning, Chuck and Bernie came by to get the paper. Gary was in the kitchen trying to make the girls some eggs. Jessica and Casey were sitting at the kitchen table watching him. Chuck walked into the kitchen and groaned.

"Look Bernie, isn't he mister domestic." Chuck joked.

"Shut up, Chuck." Gary snapped. "Girls, go on upstairs and get dressed. I'll call you when breakfast is ready."

"Sounds like somebody is a little grumpy today." Chuck said.

"What's wrong, son?" Bernie asked.

"I think Kaitlyn is starting to is get a little anxious to get this over with." Gary said. "She's feeling a little cooped up. How's Jade doing?" 

"She's perfectly fine. We were at the doctors yesterday. She's not even dialated. Unlike, your kids, mine, well he isn't that anxious to make an appearance." Chuck smiled.

"Wonder why?" Bernie joked and Gary laughed.

"Chuck is that you?" Gary heard Kaitlyn's voice. He walked into the foyer and saw her standing at the top of the stairs. 

"Get back in bed." He said as he pointed the spatula at her.

"Is that Chuck?" She asked.

"Hey their Katie." Chuck said as he walked in front of Gary.

"Chuck could you come up here for a minute please." Kaitlyn said.

"What do you want to see him for?" Gary asked.

"Well, I haven't seen him for a while I wanted to see how Jade is." Kaitlyn said.

Chuck and Gary exchanged a look.

"He can come up, but you have got to get back in bed." Gary said. 

Chuck headed upstairs and followed Kaitlyn into the bedroom. 

"Close the door." She said.

"Okay, but get back in bed. If the drill sergeant comes up here and you're not in bed I'll be cleaning the latrines." Chuck said. Kaitlyn rolled her eyes and got back into bed.

Chuck walked over to the side of the bed and Kaitlyn grabbed him by the front of his shirt.

"Chuck, I have been waiting for five days for you to come by. You have to get him out of here. He's driving me crazy." Kaitlyn said.

"That bad, huh?" Chuck said.

"Worse." Kaitlyn said.

"That would be the Hobson mothering experience." Chuck said.

"I love him, but he…" She hesitated. "Talk him into going and taking care of the paper." Kaitlyn said anxiously. "You could stay with me for the afternoon. If Jade needs you she can call and my sister can come over." 

"Jade won't need me her mother is here." Chuck said. "I'd rather spend the afternoon with you than with Cruella DeVille. I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you." Kaitlyn smiled.

Chuck headed back downstairs to find Gary and Bernie in the kitchen going through the paper. Gary stopped when he saw Chuck.

"What did she want?" Gary asked.

"Gar, I'm going to be completely honest with you." Chuck said as he put his hand on Gary's shoulder. "You're driving her crazy." 

"What?" Gary asked surprised.

"She needs a break and she has requested my company for the afternoon." Chuck smiled.

"You have got to be kidding me." Gary said surprised.

"Nope. She wants you to go with your Dad and take care of the paper, while I hang out here with her." Chuck said. Gary looked at Chuck astounded, then headed upstairs.

"Maybe I shouldn't have told him that." Chuck said.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Chapter 41

When Gary got to the bedroom, he found Casey lying on the bed with her mother watching television. 

"Casey, go and get your sister, your breakfast is ready. I have to talk to Mommy." Gary said. 

"Okay." Casey said as she left the room.

Gary stood with his arms crossed and stared at Kaitlyn. She could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't happy. She knew she was going to have to think fast.

"Do you have something you want to tell me?" Gary asked.

"What?" Kaitlyn said.

"Chuck said I'm driving you crazy." Gary said with some annoyance in his voice.

"I only told him that so he would stay here this afternoon." Kaitlyn said.

"What?" Gary asked.

"You see, when I was talking to him I noticed that he was a little nervous and I have the feeling that he just might need someone to talk to. I think it's the whole becoming a father thing that has him a little thrown off." Kaitlyn said. 

"Oh." Gary said. 

"I just thought that you and your father could take care of the paper and maybe I could calm him down a little bit." Kaitlyn smiled.

"Well, you know, Chuck isn't the best guy to have here in case something happens." Gary groaned.

"I'll be fine. I promise I won't even get out of bed. If something happens, Megan is right across the street." 

"Are you sure you want to spend the whole day with him?" Gary asked.

"I really think it will be for the best." Kaitlyn said as she shook her head.

Gary walked over, sat on the side of the bed, and put his hands on her stomach. "I love you. All of you." He said softly.

A rush of guilt poured through Kaitlyn. How could she lie to him like that? She was going to kill Chuck when she got her hands on him. She looked up at Gary.

"I love you, too." She said as she reached up and kissed him.

"I'm going to take Chuck's cell phone. If you have the slightest pain, you call me, okay?" Kaitlyn nodded in agreement. "I'm going to go and get dressed." 

As Gary closed the door to the bathroom, Chuck came in. "Where's Gar?" He said.

"He's in the bathroom." Kaitlyn gave him a glare. "What could you have possibly been thinking." She whispered slightly annoyed.

"What?" Chuck asked innocently.

"Why did you tell him what I told you? I had to lie to him. I've never lied to him before. Now I feel awful." Kaitlyn pouted. "Do you ever think before the words come pouring out of your mouth." 

"Katie, it got you off the hook didn't it?" Chuck said.

"You, I don't know why I trust you." She said.

"Me." Chuck started to continue, but Kaitlyn cut him off.

"Yes, you!" She stopped when she saw Gary come out of the bathroom. Kaitlyn and Chuck both smiled at him.

"What's going on?" Gary asked.

"Oh, we were, we were just talking about things." Kaitlyn smiled as she tucked her hair behind her ear. When Gary turned his back, she shot Chuck a look.

"All right, well I guess I'll see you two later." Gary said as he walked over to Kaitlyn and kissed her. "Remember what I said." 

"I will. Be careful." Kaitlyn said. Gary nodded and turned to Chuck.

"Give me your cell phone." Gary said.

"It's in the car." Chuck said.

"I'm going to take it with me. If something happens, call me." Gary said as he walked out the door.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Chapter 42

In the afternoon, Chuck brought Kaitlyn her lunch. When he walked into the bedroom, she was coming out of the bathroom. 

"Gary's called about ten times since he left. He obviously has no confidence in me." Chuck groaned as he set the tray down on the bed. He looked over at Kaitlyn completely dressed, wearing a cotton maternity dress and holding a suitcase. "What's that for, you planning on running away?" He said.

"Chuck, I'm having contractions." Kaitlyn said.

"What? Oh, no, no, no. This isn't happening." Chuck said as he put his hands over his ears and started to pace the floor.

"Chuck! Chuck!" Kaitlyn screamed to get his attention. "Look at me! I don't think we have very much time. Where are the girls?"

"Megan came by and took them to the zoo." Chuck said.

"Okay. Where did my mother go?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Shopping with Mrs. H." Chuck winced. "Gar! We'll call Gary." Chuck said quickly and headed for the telephone as Kaitlyn sat down on the bed.

After the look of panic on Chuck's face, Kaitlyn asked, "What's wrong?"

"I think he wore the battery down calling here a hundred times today." Chuck said. "I can't get him."

Kaitlyn screamed as she got another contraction. She looked at her watch, they were getting closer together.

"Okay, Chuck you're going to have to take me to the hospital." She said when the contraction ended.

"Me?" Chuck asked.

"Yes you!" Kaitlyn screamed as she handed him her suitcase and headed for the door.

Gary and Bernie had finished with the paper. Bernie told Gary that if he didn't need his help for the rest of the afternoon, he was going to head over to the park. Since he had been visiting Chicago so frequently, he had gotten himself involved in a curling league. Gary stopped back at McGinty's. He found Marissa working in the office. 

"Hey Marissa. How's it going?" Gary said as he sat down at the desk.

"Chuck isn't here so it's quiet. I didn't expect to see you today." Marissa said.

"I've been taking care of the paper today. Chuck is with Kaitlyn." 

"You're kidding, right?" Marissa asked.

"Nope. I wish I was." Gary said.

"What brought that on?" Marissa said.

"Well, depends on who's version you want to hear, Chuck's or my wife's." Gary said as he fumbled through some receipts that were on the desk. "See, Chuck tells me that Kaitlyn wants me out of the house because I'm driving her crazy. When I asked Kaitlyn about it, she tells me it's because she is worried about Chuck. She said she thought he needed someone to talk to because he's nervous about becoming a father."

"Who do you believe?" Marissa asked.

"Well, I would like to think that my wife wouldn't lie to me. But, I talked to my Dad about it and well, I think I have been a little to overprotective. So, I tend to fall on Chuck's side." Gary groaned.

"Gary, I'm sure Kaitlyn understands that you are just worried about her and the babies." Marissa smiled. "She's just probably anxious to get this whole thing over with. Not to mention the fact that she has been cooped up in the hospital and now the house." 

"I hope so." Gary groaned.

"You finished with the paper today?" Marissa asked.

"The only thing left was a little fender bender over on Logan. I skipped it. I want to head home early. It's just going to snarl traffic for a while. I'm going to call and check on Kaitlyn before I leave." Gary said as he picked up the telephone and dialed. "That's strange." He said as he put the telephone down. 

"What?" Marissa asked.

"There's no answer." Gary said concerned. "Why wouldn't they answer." Gary said nervously.

"Gary, don't get all worked up. Kaitlyn probably talked Chuck into letting her sit outside for a little while." Marissa said. "She'll be fine."

"Yeah, you're probably right. I have his cell phone, so if there was a problem they would have called me." Gary said as he reached for the paper in his back pocket. He found the article. His face went white. "Marrisa, the article has changed. It says that a pregnant woman is going to have a baby in that traffic jam. Oh, God! What if it's Kaitlyn." Gary said as he headed for the door. "Keep trying to get Kaitlyn on the phone, when you get her tell her to call me on the cell phone." Gary said a he left the office.


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Chuck and Kaitlyn were on their way to the hospital when traffic came to a stand still. 

"Unbelievable. This would only happen to me." Chuck said.

"You! All you're doing is driving the car. I'm the one that is about to give birth." As Kaitlyn finished, she had another hard contraction. 

"What is that?" Chuck said as he looked over and pointed to a puddle at Kaitlyn's feet.

"My water broke." Kaitlyn shot him a look of frustration.

"Oh, no. Not in the car!" Chuck yelled.

"Chuck, listen to me. I can feel the baby coming. I'm going to have to push. You're going have to deliver this baby." Kaitlyn said as she got another contraction. She screamed in pain.

"No! No! No! No! No!" Chuck kept repeating as he banged his head on the steering wheel.

"Chuck! Look at me!" Kaitlyn grabbed him by the shoulder. "I can't do this by myself! You have to help me!" She screamed as the tears started to roll down her cheeks.

When Chuck saw the frightened look on her face, he gathered his composure. He got out of the car and screamed, "Does anybody have a cell phone. I got a pregnant woman here in labor. We need to call an ambulance." 

"I have one." The guy in the car next to them said. "I'll call 911."

Chuck then went around and opened the trunk pulling out two blankets and throwing them under his arm. He walked over and opened Kaitlyn's door. 

"Come on. There isn't enough room for you in here." He said as he helped her out of the car and walk to the van in front of them. 

"Hey buddy! Open the hatch. I got a lady here having a baby. Can you help us out." Chuck said.

The man got out of the car, came around to the back, and opened the hatch. 

"I'll move the seats up so she has some more room." He said as he headed back to the front of the van. 

Chuck laid down the blanket and helped Kaitlyn in. 

"Chuck, I have to push." Kaitlyn said.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Chuck said. "Maybe think about something else and the feeling will go away." He said optimistically as a crowd started to gather around them. "You know like when you have to go to the bathroom." 

"It doesn't work like that." Kaitlyn said angrily. A woman stepped forward and climbed into the van next to Kaitlyn.

"It's okay honey. Is this your first baby?" She said quietly.

"No, it's my third and fourth." Kaitlyn said. "I'm having twins. I just wish my husband were here." Kaitlyn sobbed as the woman wrapped her arms around her.


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Chapter 44

As Gary turned the corner, he saw the crowd. He ran toward them, spotting Chuck's car. 

"Oh boy!" He said as he worked his way through the people.

When he got through he saw Kaitlyn inside the van and Chuck pacing frantically in front of her. A woman had her arms wrapped around Kaitlyn's shoulders and was trying to calm her down. He rushed up and stood next to Chuck.

"Gar! Thank God!" Chuck said as he hugged him.

"Honey." Gary said as he pushed Chuck away and got into the van beside her.

"Gary!" She screamed as she threw her arms around his neck. "I can't believe you're here. I thought I was going to have to do this without you." She said as she cried into his neck.

"It's okay." Gary swallowed hard. He felt Kaitlyn's arms tighten around him. She screamed as she was having another contraction. 

"I can't wait anymore, I have to push." Kaitlyn let go of him and began to push. 

"Well, it looks like where having a baby." Gary said as he went down to her feet and lifted her dress and got ready to deliver his child. 

"Honey, I see the baby's head!" He smiled. "You're doing great."

Gary spoke encouragingly to Kaitlyn as she continued to push. After about fifteen minutes of pushing, the shoulders were almost out.

"One more push is all it's going to take, honey. One more push." Gary said as he held the baby's head.

When the next contraction came, Kaitlyn pushed as hard as she could. Gary grabbed the baby and looked up at his exhausted wife. 

"It's a boy!" Gary said as the baby began to cry. Tears welled in his eyes as he looked down at his son. He then took the other blanket from Chuck and laid it on Kaitlyn's stomach, gently laying the baby on the blanket. He crawled up beside her and kissed her forehead. 

"He's beautiful." Kaitlyn cried. The baby had a full head of dark hair. 

"Hey, Zeke." Gary said as he played with the baby's fingers. He looked at Kaitlyn. "I love you." He whispered, then kissed her. 

Chuck peeked into the van and looked at the baby, then at Gary. "Jeez Gar, could that kid look any more like you?" Chuck said. Gary looked up at him and smiled. 

The ambulance had made its way through the crowd and the paramedics walked to the van. 

"Looks like we're a little late." He said.

"Not really, we got twins on the way." Gary said.

"Are you still having contractions?" The paramedic asked Kaitlyn.

"Yeah. But, they're not as bad as before." Kaitlyn said.

"Sometimes you get a little breather in between babies. Hopefully we'll be able to get you to the hospital before the next baby comes." He smiled. 

The paramedics cut the cord, wrapped the baby in a blanket, and handed him to Gary. They then got Kaitlyn ready to transport her to the hospital. 

"Can I come with her?" Gary said as they put Kaitlyn into the ambulance.

"Sure." The paramedic said. Gary climbed into the ambulance and took a seat next to the gurney.

"I'll meet you guys there as soon as I can get out of here. I'll work on getting a hold of everybody." Chuck said.

"Okay Chuck." Gary said as the doors closed.


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Chapter 45

On the way to the hospital, Gary held the baby and Kaitlyn's hand. As Kaitlyn's contractions started to get stronger, she squeezed his hand. 

"Ouch." Gary said. 

"Contractions are increasing?" The paramedic asked.

"Yeah, but it feels different. Oh God it hurts." Kaitlyn cried as she tried to breathe her way through the contraction.

"We're pulling up to the hospital now." He said. As he examined her the ambulance doors opened. "Second baby hasn't presented yet, she has started to hemorrhage." He said to the doctor as they wheeled her into the emergency room. 

As Gary came through the door, a nurse took the baby from him and guided him to a separate room. He could hear Kaitlyn scream as they wheeled her down the hall.

"What is going on? I want to be with my wife." Gary said to the nurse.

"We're going to have a pediatrician look at the baby and get him cleaned up. I'll send someone to check on your wife." She said as she turned to another nurse who walked into the examine room. "Jerry, go down and see what is going on." 

A few minutes later, a doctor came into the room. "Mr. Hobson? I'm Dr. McNulty. I'm the chief emergency room resident here." 

"How's my wife?" Gary asked quickly.

"Your wife is having some problems. We've sent her upstairs for an emergency c-section. When women have had a previous c-section and they try to deliver the next pregnancy naturally, well sometimes the uterus incision ruptures and they begin to hemorrhage. That is what has happened to your wife. What Dr. Jeffries is going to do is deliver the baby and try to get the hemorrhaging to stop. I'm going to send you upstairs and she'll fill you in when she is finished with the surgery." He said as he put his hand on Gary's shoulder.

"She could die?" Gary asked somberly.

"We're going to do everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen. If we can't stop the hemorrhaging, yes, she could bleed to death." He said. Gary swallowed hard.

"Can I see her?" Gary asked his voice barely above a whisper.

"No I'm afraid you won't be able to be in the delivery room." He said. "I'll have one of the nurses take you and your baby upstairs."


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Gary sat in the waiting room with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. One of the nurses told him that his son was in the nursery if he wanted to see him. Gary shook his head no. Gary heard the elevator doors open and he turned to see his parents and in-laws come off. 

"Gary." Lois walked over to him with a huge smile on her face. As soon as she saw the look on her son's face, she knew something was wrong. "What is it?" She asked as she took his hand. 

"They had to take Kaitlyn into surgery. They couldn't stop the bleeding." He whispered as he dropped Lois' hand and looked at the floor. "Mom, she could die." He said softly. 

Lois sat down on one side of him and Bernie on the other. Kaitlyn's mother, Lily cried softly into her husband's chest. Bernie put his hand on Gary's back and gave him a pat. 

"She'll be all right son." He said as Lois took Gary's hand. When Gary looked up, he saw a nurse walking towards him. 

"Mr. Hobson?" She said.

"Yes." Gary said as he stood up. 

"We had to take your wife's rings off of her before she went into surgery." She said as she handed him Kaitlyn's engagement ring, wedding band, and his grandmother's ring. "Can I get you anything?" She asked.

"No, thank you." Gary said softly as he looked at Kaitlyn's rings in his hand.

"I'll come and get you as soon as we hear anything." She said as she turned and walked away. 

"That's the first time, since our wedding, she's ever had these rings off her fingers." Gary said as he looked at his mother. Lois wrapped her arms around Gary's waist and hugged him. 

A few minutes passed until Lois asked where the baby was. Gary told her that they had him in the nursery. Collier, Bernie, and Lily headed to the nursery to see their new grandson, so that Lois could have some time alone with Gary.

"Mom. I'll never forgive myself if something happens to her." Gary said softly. 

"Gary, honey, you can't blame yourself for this. Nobody could have known something like this would happen." She said as she rubbed her son's back.

"She knew. We talked about something like this happening. Sh..She was scared." Gary stuttered. "I should have been there for her. I might have been able to get her here faster." His mother held him gently as he cried. 

It was about twenty minutes before the nurse came out into the waiting area pushing a bassinet. 

"Would you like to see your other son?" She asked as she smiled at Gary.

"How's my wife?" Gary asked as he walked towards her and the baby.

"They are still working on her. I think Dr. Jeffries will be out to talk to you shortly." She said. Gary nodded and then looked down into the bassinet. 

"Hey there buddy." He said as he placed his hand on the top of the baby's head. The baby turned at the sound of his voice and looked directly at him. "You look just like your brother. Wait till Mommy gets a good look at you." He said softly as a tear ran down his cheek. 

"I'm going to take him into the nursery, if you would like to come in." The nurse said.

"No, thank you. I'm going to wait here." Gary said as he turned around and walked back to his seat and sat down. He watched his parents and the Kelly's have their first look at his second son before the nurse led him into the nursery to join is brother.


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Dr. Jeffries was the next person to speak with Gary. She walked into the waiting room and smiled at him.

"Well, Mr. Hobson would you like to see your wife." She smiled.

"She's okay?" Gary said hesitantly as he stood.

"It looks like she is going to be fine. I thought that we were going to have to do a hysterectomy, but before I put your wife under the anesthesia, she was so insistent against it. I decided to wait it out and it was the right decision. I was able to repair her uterus, although, next time, she will definitely have to have a c-section." Dr. Jeffries joked.

"Next time. She's going be okay." Gary said as he closed his eyes and Lois wrapped her arms around him.

"We're getting ready to move her into a room. I'm sure when she wakes up she is going to be extremely anxious to see you and those babies." Dr. Jeffries said. "I can walk you over to the nursery. The grandparents can go to the viewing window."

"Okay. Thank you." Gary said sincerely as he shook the doctors' hand.

"Ha! Let's go see those grandsons of ours." Bernie said as he patted Collier on the back and they all headed to the nursery. 

When Gary went into the nursery, he saw his parents and the Kelly's standing at the window and he waived. The nurse walked him over to where the boys were. They were lying as close together as they could in a double bassinet. 

"I keep moving them, trying to give them more room, but they end up fussing. They like to be right on top of each other." The nurse joked to Gary who smiled. "You can have a few minutes alone with them. Then we'll take them down to see your wife. I'm sure they are both going to get hungry pretty soon." 

Gary looked down at his sons. They were both sleeping contently.

"They look so much a like." Gary said. "I don't know how we're going to tell them apart."

"Oh, you'll get used to it. Sometimes even twins that aren't identical still look a lot alike. Actually, if you look closely this one has a slight dimple in his chin." She said. 

"You're right. I didn't notice that." Gary said with a smile.

"Do you have their names picked out?" She asked. 

"I think I better wait and talk to my wife about that." Gary smiled.

"Would you like to hold them?" She asked. 

"Can I?" Gary asked.

"Well, of course." She said as she reached into the bassinet and picked up one of the boys and handed him to Gary. She then reached in, took the other baby, and put it in his other arm. 

Gary looked down at his sons and smiled. They stayed asleep in his arms. He looked up at his parents, who were on the other side of the window. His father and Collier had huge smiles on their faces and his mother and Lily were smiling, but crying and hugging each other. Gary walked over to the window and got as close as he could so that they could see both of the babies.

"How much do they weigh?" Lois said to Gary through the glass.

"My mother wants to know how much they weigh." Gary said as he turned to the nurse. 

  
"One is 6 pounds, 5 ounces, and the other is 6 pounds, 12 ounces." She said.

"6 pounds, 5 ounces and 6 pounds, 12 ounces." Gary said to his mother through the glass.

"Mr. Hobson." A nurse said getting his attention. "Your wife is in her room now if you would like to see her."

"Yes." Gary said.

"Here why don't you give me one of the babies and we'll put him back in the bassinet. You can carry the other baby, as long as you promise me you won't trip and fall with him. If you do, I'll loose my job." She smiled.

"Okay." Gary said she took one of the babies and put it in the bassinet. 

"Follow me." She said as she pushed the bassinet out of the room.


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Chapter 48

When Gary got to Kaitlyn's room, she was sleeping. The nurse pushed the bassinet in. When Gary looked down at his son in his arms, the baby's eyes opened and he looked directly at his father. 

"Tell your wife if she needs me to use the call button." The nurse said. 

Gary nodded in agreement, then watched as she left the room, closing the door behind her. He laid the baby down in the bassinet and walked over to Kaitlyn's bed. He sat down beside her on the bed, leaning over and gently kissing her. 

"I love you." He whispered. One of the babies started to cry so he walked over and picked him up then sat down in the rocking chair. 

When Kaitlyn awoke it was to the sight of Gary sitting in the chair holding their son. She watched as he softly talked to the baby as he played with his fingers. Gary heard her stir and looked up to find his wife smiling at him. 

"Hey." He smiled. "Want to meet your Mom." He said to the baby as he got up and came to the side of the bed. Leaning down he handed Kaitlyn the baby, then softly kissed her. "I love you." He whispered as he sat down on the bed, a tear ran down his cheek.

"Honey." Kaitlyn said.

"For a while there, I didn't think I was every going to get to tell you that again." He said as she kissed his cheek.

"I love you, too. I think I'm okay, just a little sore." She smiled. Then a look of panic came across her face. "Did Dr. Jeffries have to.." 

Gary cut her off before she could finish. "She was able to stop the bleeding without doing a hysterectomy." Kaitlyn breathed a sigh of relief.

She looked down at the baby in her arms. "Are both the babies okay?" She asked.

"They're fine, two boys. The other one is asleep in the bassinet." Gary got up, went over, and picked up the other baby. "Here he is." He said as he walked back over to the bed and sat down, holding the baby so Kaitlyn could see him. She started to cry.

"They look so much a like." She smiled.

"That's exactly what I said when I first saw them together. The nurse already told me they're not identical though." He smiled. "Look this one's got a little dimple in his chin." Gary and Kaitlyn both laughed.

"Maybe we should give them a name." Kaitlyn said.

"Well, we decided that if they were boys, we were going to use our father's names as middle names right?" Gary asked. Kaitlyn nodded in agreement. "The one I've got is Zeke. You okay with that?" Gary asked cautiously. 

"Yes. Since you delivered him, I guess you should get to name him. Besides, he looks like a Zeke." Kaitlyn smiled. "What are we going to name you?" Kaitlyn said as she talked to the baby she was holding.

"I was talking with your mother yesterday." Gary looked at Kaitlyn. "I was asking her about family names. When she told me what her father's name was, well I happened to like it." 

"Really?" Kaitlyn asked optimistically. Gary nodded. "I was going to suggest it, but I didn't know if you would like it. I thought maybe you'd think it was too…I don't know." Kaitlyn smiled. 

"No, I think it's perfect for this little guy." Gary said as he leaned over and kissed her then the baby.

"Okay." Kaitlyn said, as there was a knock at the door. 

"Come in." Gary said.

The door opened, and Gary saw his mother-in-law peek her head in. 

"Is our Mommy up for visitors?" She asked.

"Come on in, Mamma." Kaitlyn smiled.

Lily opened the door the rest of the way and walked in, behind her were Lois, Bernie, and Collier. 

"You're just in time. We just decided on names for these two." Gary said excitedly as he got up from the bed. He walked over and placed the baby he was holding in his mother's arms. "Mom, meet Zeke Bernard Hobson." He said as he looked at his father. Lois couldn't hold back the tears any longer and they began to flow down her cheeks. 

"Gary, outside of the day you were born, this is the happiest day of my life." She said through her tears.

"Thanks Gar." Bernie said as he hugged his son.

Gary then walked over and took the next baby out of Kaitlyn's arms. He placed his son into his mother-in-law's arms and said, "This is Avery Collier Hobson." She smiled and starting to cry reached up and kissed Gary on the cheek.

"Thank you." Lily whispered.

"Congratulations son." Collier said to Gary as he shook his hand and patted his shoulder. He then turned to his daughter and said, "You did a great job there sweetheart." He kissed Kaitlyn on the forehead. 

They sat and visited for a while. Gary explained to them what happened when Zeke was born. A smile on his face the whole time.

"Gary, we are so proud of you." Lois said as she gently rocked her grandson. "You delivered your own baby.

"Kaitlyn was the one who did all the work. But, I'm definitely glad I got there when I did. I don't think Chuck would have been much help to you honey." Gary said as he held Kaitlyn's hand. 

"I know, I should have believed you when you told me that this morning. You should have seen the look on his face when my water broke in his sports car." Kaitlyn said and everyone started to laugh.

"Oh, Gary speaking of Chuck. I almost completely forgot. While you were here with Kaitlyn, Chuck came into the waiting room. He said that when he was able to get a hold of Jade she went into labor." Lois said. "He just brought her in." 

"How about that?" Gary said as he looked at Kaitlyn. "Maybe our kids will share the same birthday." 

"Gary, honey, maybe you should go and talk to him. She is going to need his help and." Gary stopped her by putting his finger on her lips. 

"I'll go see if I can find him." Gary said with a smile. Then leaned in and kissed her. "I love you." He whispered. Kaitlyn smiled. Gary got up and headed out the door.


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Gary went to the nurses' station and asked what room Jade was in. They were on the other side of the maternity ward, so Gary made the long walk down the hall. He found Chuck pacing outside of the room.

"Buddy." Gary said as he walked up behind him and grabbed his arm.

"Gar!" Chuck said, the fear evident on his face.

"How's it going?" Gary asked as he patted him on the back. 

"Not to good. Gar, I don't think I'm going to be able to do this." Chuck moaned.

"Chuck, look at me. You got the easy part. You need to pull yourself together. Jade is going to need your support." Gary said.

"That's easy for you to say. You could already be a candidate for father of the year. Me, I don't think I'm father material." Chuck said disappointedly.

"Chuck you're going be great father. You're going to look back on this day and realize this was one of the happiest days of your life." Gary said encouragingly.

"Thanks, Gar." Chuck said. 

They nurse opened the door to Jade's room and said, "Mr. Fishman, your wife is completely dilated. She is getting ready to start to push." She then turned and went back into the room.

"Lovely." Chuck mumbled. "I'm coming honey." He said as he headed into the room, then turned, and looked at Gary.

"Good luck, Buddy." Gary said encouragingly.

On Gary's return trip to Kaitlyn's room, he ran into his parents and in-laws at the nurses' station. When he walked up they all were laughing and talking with the nurse at the desk. 

"Where are you guys going?" Gary asked.

"Kaitlyn was nursing and we wanted to give her some quiet." Lily said. 

"Oh." Gary said.

"How's Chuck doing?" Bernie asked.

"He's hanging in." Gary said.

"Gary, we're going to go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat. Do you want anything?" Lois asked.

"No, Mom. I'm good. I think, I'm going to have to go and get the girls and bring them over so they can meet their new brothers." Gary said with a smile.

"Oh, Megan is bringing them over." Lily said. 

"Why don't you go and spend some time with Kaitlyn." Lois said. "I'll bring you a hamburger.

"Thanks Mom." Gary said as he headed down the hall to Kaitlyn's room.


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Chapter 50

When Gary got back to Kaitlyn's room, she was asleep. He walked over to the bassinet and peeked in on his sons who were also sound asleep. Gary stood and watched Kaitlyn for a few minutes. Ever since they had gotten married, he always got up early just to watch her sleep. 

He walked over and sat down in the chair. He didn't realize how exhausted he was. He closed his eyes for what seemed like a second until he heard Kaitlyn's voice.

"Gary." She said. 

"Huh?" He said as he opened his eyes and saw his wife sitting up in bed. "You feeling all right?" He asked quickly.

"Yeah. Just tired." She said. "How's Jade doing?" 

"She's pushing." Gary said.

"How's Chuck?" Kaitlyn asked.

"He's Chuck." Gary shrugged. "They'll be all right."

Gary got up and sat on the bed beside her. She rested her head on his shoulder. 

"This is probably the last peace and quiet we'll have for a while." Kaitlyn sighed. 

"You got that right." Gary smiled. "It's worth it though." 

"Mommy." Casey yelled as she and Jessica came running into the room. Marissa and Megan came into the room behind them.

"Shh." Gary said putting his finger to his mouth. "Babies are sleeping." He whispered and picked her up and set her on the bed. Jessica went around, crawled up on the other side of her mother, and hugged her. 

"Mommy are you okay?" Jessica asked.

"I'm fine sweetie." Kaitlyn said. 

"You want to meet your brothers?" Gary asked as he led both girls over to the bassinet.

"This is Zeke." Gary said as he pointed to him. "And this is Avery."

"Congratulations." Megan said as she hugged him and walked over to Kaitlyn's bed, sat down and hugged her sister. Jessica got back up on the bed next to her mother. 

Gary walked over to Marissa. He grabbed her hand. "Congratulations, Gary." She reached up and hugged him. "It's been a long time coming, hasn't it?" Marissa asked.

"You could say that." Gary said with a smile. "Why don't you come on over here and sit down and hold one of your godchildren." Gary said.

He led her to the rocking chair and helped her sit down. He then reached into the bassinet, picked up Avery who was now awake, and placed him in her arms. Marissa gently touched his face and smiled when he grabbed her finger. 

"They're not identical, but they look an awful lot alike." Gary said as he knelt down beside the chair. Casey came over and sat on his knee.

"Yeah, like their father. There is no way you can deny these kids Gary." Megan teased. 

"I don't think he'll be doing that." Marissa joked. Gary smiled and kissed Casey on the forehead.

"So what do you think?" He asked her. 

"They're okay, I guess." Casey said crinkling her nose. Gary smiled.

"Marissa did you know Jade was in labor?" Gary asked.

"She is?" Marissa said.

"She probably had the baby by now." Gary said. Kaitlyn, Marissa, and Megan all turned and looked at him.

"He thinks he's an expert now." Megan teased.

"What?" Gary asked.

"Honey, the first baby usually takes awhile. She probably won't have the baby until later tonight." Kaitlyn smiled.

"Oh." Gary shrugged. 

Lois, Bernie, Collier, and Lily soon joined them. Gary sat and ate his hamburger and watched the girls try to play with the babies. They all visited for awhile until the girls started to get bored and loud. The nurse came in and took the boys down to the nursery for their bath. 

"Okay, girls. How about we say good-bye to Mommy and Daddy." Megan said.

"Do we have to?" Jessica asked.

"Yes. We're going to have pizza and go to the fireworks." Megan said. 

"I think we're all going to get going." Lily said. "So we can give Mommy a chance to catch up on her rest. It's been a long day." 

"Come on girls. Marissa you want a ride home?" Megan asked. 

"No. I think I'm going to stick around and wait for Chuck's baby. If that's okay with you two?" Marissa asked.

"Yeah, that's fine." Kaitlyn said. "I enjoy your company." 

"I'll have Emmitt pick me up later." Marissa said to Megan.

After saying their good-byes, everyone left for the night and headed home. Gary, Kaitlyn, and Marissa sat and talked for a while. He told Marissa how he delivered Zeke and then what happened with Kaitlyn when they got to the hospital. Marissa told Kaitlyn that she couldn't believe Gary was able to talk her into naming the baby Zeke. Kaitlyn said that her husband could be very persuasive when he wanted to be. He teased Marissa; saying that he told her his first son would be named Zeke. 

"I wonder how Jade is doing?" Marissa asked. 

"Maybe I should take a walk down and see how it's going." Gary said. 

"Can I go with you?" Marissa asked. 

"Sure." Gary turned toward Kaitlyn. "I'll be back in a little bit, okay?" 

She nodded. He leaned in and kissed her, then got up off the bed and helped Marissa to the door. 

Chapter 51

As they were walking towards the nurses' station, Gary told Marissa that he saw Chuck and Emmitt standing on the outside of the nursery at the viewing window. They walked up and stood beside them. Marissa went into Emmitt's arms.

"Chuck, how's Jade?" Gary said.

"Gar! She's good. It's all over." Chuck sighed as he and Gary hugged. "Can you even believe it, our kids share the same birthday." 

"Congratulations Chuck." Marissa said as she hugged him. 

"We were just getting a good look at those Hobson boys." Chuck said as he pointed at the boys through the window. 

Gary turned and looked at his sons. He then glanced over at the bassinet next to theirs. It said on the front Hannah Fishman, 7 lbs., 13 oz. Gary smiled and patted Chuck on the back.

"Chuck, you got a daughter." Gary said. "She's beautiful."

"Yeah!" Chuck said. "I can' believe it. Now, I'm going to spend the rest of my life chasing those two away from her." He teased as he pointed to the babies. 

"They're my sons, I'm sure you will be." Gary said with a smile.

"Hey, Gar. You were right." Chuck said.

"About what?" Gary asked.

"This is definitely the best day of my life." Chuck said.

"I know exactly how you feel, Buddy. I know exactly how you feel." Gary said as he put his arm on Chuck's shoulder and they looked at their children. 

Later, when Gary opened the door to Kaitlyn's room, he heard the nurse say, "I think you've got things under control. Call me if you need anything." 

"Thank you." Kaitlyn said. 

Gary passed her in the doorway. He walked in to the dimly lit room, saw Kaitlyn nursing one of the babies, and smiled. He walked over to the bassinet and found his other son quietly sleeping. 

"As soon as he was done eating he went right to sleep." Kaitlyn said as Gary walked to the side of the bed, sat down, and put his arm around her shoulder. 

"Which one you got there." He said.

"Zeke. He's not cooperating as well as his brother." Kaitlyn said as she tried to get him to continue to nurse.

"Well, he's my son, he'll catch on." Gary grinned and kissed her. Kaitlyn rolled her eyes. 

"Ouch." She said loudly. Gary winced. "I think he's a barracuda." She joked and Gary smiled. "How's Jade?" 

"Baby girl, 7 pounds 13 ounces. They named her Hannah." Gary smiled. 

"Everything is okay?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Yep." Gary said. "You feeling all right?" He asked.

"Yeah. Just tired." She said. "They just gave me some pain medicine. She said it might make me a little sleepy." 

They sat in silence. Gary watched serenely as Kaitlyn nursed their son. It seemed like he had waited a lifetime to witness this sight. His heart overflowed, as he looked on with such love and devotion for this beautiful woman sitting next to him. As the baby nursed, he fell asleep in his mother's arms. Suddenly, a burst of light filled the room.

"Gary look fireworks." Kaitlyn pointed towards the window.

"How about that." Gary said then looked down at his son. "You want me to put him in the bassinet?" Gary asked.

"No. I'll hold him." Kaitlyn smiled. Gary leaned over and kissed her. 

"Thank you." He said softly against her lips. She raised her hand and gently caressed his cheek.

"I love you." She said.

"I love you." Gary said as they both smiled and turned their attentions back to the beautiful baby in her arms.


End file.
